Schaumburg celebrates share of MSL West
Schaumburg's last home basketball game was not just the end of a homecourt season, but an era.
As the Saxons clinched a share of the Mid-Suburban West title, honoring their seniors pre-game and then pulling away from Palatine for a 54-34 win, they also marked the final home games for the longtime courtside trio of announcer Tom Mueller, official scorekeeper Jon Macnider and Pep Band director Greg Tipps, all retiring this year.
Maybe the euphoria of the seniors' honors and the faculty trio's recognition carried over into the varsity's game. The Saxons (13-10, 7-3) came out snarling on defense, giving Palatine few good looks and little room to operate while converting from anywhere and everywhere while trailing only at the game's very outset.
Schaumburg knocked down 3-pointers, generated high-percentage looks all night and controlled the boards and the flow and pace of the floor game.
"I'm just happy for our guys," said head coach Matt Walsh, whose club is playing as well as anyone's heading into the postseason. "Defensively, they were very awesome tonight. They were really playing hard."
The five seniors who got the starting nod on their night played like the special occasion it was. Mark Bielanski knocked down a clutch 3 just before the end of the first quarter to leave no doubt as to who had the momentum while Elliot Rieves converted a nifty reverse layup to close out Schaumburg's scoring.
But it was the task at hand and not the celebration on which the seniors were concentrating.
"We were focused on beating Palatine," said Bielanski, whose 3-point touch has benefited the Saxons all year. And when it comes to looking toward the IHSA playoffs, "We're very confident.
"With the schedule we played, we know we can play with anyone," he continued before rushing off to a line of cameras snapping pictures of the seniors collectively.
The Saxons maintained a double-digit lead from the second quarter on and their defense never let the Pirates (9-16, 3-7) get closer than 12. Kurt Kempema (10 points) and Chris Spandiary (14) dominated inside and took turns feeding each other for buckets, threading passes through Palatine's changing zone defenses.
Javon McDonald played steady at the point all night and put in 15 points, 12 on 3-pointers to deflate Palatine's zone.
"That's a good team. They handled everything we threw at them," said Pirates coach Eric Millstone, whose team showed some spark when it managed to get to the rim on the wings of John Millin (9 points), Egan Malley (7) and Josh Baldus (6).
But the Pirates were harassed by Schaumburg's in-your-face, man-to-man defense, hitting half as many field goals as Schaumburg and getting far fewer attempts.
"The effort's been there all year," said Millstone. "We've got to shore up the execution."