Barrington holds off Palatine

Barrington didn’t play the way it wanted to in the first half on Friday night at Palatine

But the Broncos got back to being patient on offense and that allowed their defense to dig in and apply plenty of pressure in a 43-42 Mid-Suburban West boys basketball victory over the Pirates.

Barrington (4-2, 1-0) trailed 22-15 at halftime but outscored Palatine (0-5, 0-1) in the third quarter 19-5.

“We did a better job of attacking to the rim,” said Barrington head coach Bryan Tucker of the difference in the two halves. “That allowed us on makes to get a little pressure, which is what we wanted to try to do. We had a hard time scoring the ball in the first half to even get into anything.”

Trailing by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Pirates battled back as freshman Roosevelt Smart scored 10 of his game-high 19 points.

“He’s a talented kid, isn’t’ he?” Tucker said. “Wow, he can get it going. He’s scary to think about for four years here in the league.”

Smart’s runner off the glass brought Palatine to within 43-42 with 15 seconds left. Greg Grana (9 points) made a spectacular play by stealing the inbound pass and throwing it off the leg of a Barrington player to give the ball back to the Pirates with a chance to win.

But Grana’s shot on the ensuing possession was off the mark and De’marius Bailey’s (13 rebounds) tip attempt rolled off the rim.

Palatine’s defense forced Barrington into taking 16 of its 22 first-half shots from outside the paint. As a result, the Pirates built a 12-point lead after Smart’s 4-point play with 4:29 left in the second quarter.

Desperate for offense, the Broncos got a spark off the bench from 6-foot-4 Lee Conforti, who provided the muscle inside with 6-7 John Schneider sidelined six weeks with a broken pinkie.

Conforti scored 5 of his 11 points in an 8-2 run just before halftime to trigger Barrington’s big third quarter.

“I try to put a lot of effort into crashing the boards and just being tough in the middle,” Conforti said.

The Broncos finally caught Palatine with 2:42 left in the third quarter when Brad Zaumseil’s 3-pointer tied the game at 27-27. Jackson Wegner scored 5 of his team-high 12 points in the third-quarter barrage.

“Barrington came out (at the end of the) second quarter and played the way that they have been playing the last few years,” said Palatine head coach Eric Millstone. “It was nothing that we didn’t do. They just got back to playing the way that they normally do.”

Palatine had one last chance after Barrington missed a free throw with six seconds left but the last of Zaumseil’s 5 steals ended the game and Palatine’s chances to get its’ first win of the season. The Pirates, however, may have turned a corner in an area more important than wins.

“We talked before the game about being 0-for-4, not only in our record, but in the effort game,” Millstone said. “We really made it a point to come out and compete tonight. We got some defensive stops and some loose balls and got back to playing the way we are supposed to play.”