Round Lake trims Palatine

The only thing better looking than Anthony Gutierrez's backbreaking 3-pointer against Palatine in the fourth quarter might have been the Round Lake senior's new Mohawk.

"I just got this done, actually today," Gutierrez said Saturday night after helping the Panthers edge visiting Palatine 46-39 in a tightly contested nonconference game. "Unique. Different. ... I had it earlier in the season."

What's different with his new 'do?

"It looks better," the black-haired Gutierrez said with a laugh.

"It's a good look. I like it," said Panthers senior guard Juddon Carter, smiling. "It's better than what he had."

Also looking better these days: Round Lake's basketball team.

The Panthers' victory over Palatine (2-21) hiked their record to 7-14 and gave them their first two-game winning streak since December of last season.

"We needed a couple of wins," said Carter, who, after becoming Round Lake's all-time leading scorer in the team's last game, led all scorers with 17 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked a shot. "We needed that under our belt to get the momentum pushing forward."

Palatine trailed most of the game but took a 34-33 lead with 4:17 left in the fourth quarter on a baseline drive by senior forward Tom Hauert (6 points, 8 rebounds).

Mark Jennings (5 points, 8 rebounds) sank 2 free throws to give the lead back to Round Lake. Then, with the Panthers working their half-court offense, Carter penetrated and dished the ball on the wing to Matt Houghton. Houghton (4 assists) fed a quick pass to a wide-open Gutierrez, who calmly swished his third 3-pointer of the game, with 3:17 left, extending the Round Lake advantage to 38-34.

"(Palatine) started to come back and we had just had a timeout and said we had to move the ball more," Gutierrez said. "They got good rotation on the ball and they switched onto Juddon. That left me open so I just had to knock down the shot."

"Good defense," Carter said of his team's execution down the stretch, "and a great shot by Anthony Gutierrez."

Palatine never recovered, as the Pirates got outscored 13-5 after Hauert had put them ahead.

"We've been in this situation a few times where we'll take a lead and then we just don't get that stop when we need it," Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. "To Round Lake's credit, they just stayed with it. They deserved to win."

Gutierrez, who scored 12 points coming off the bench, hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:12, while Carter went 4 of 5 from the line in the fourth.

Palatine has seen it too often this season.

"It's been our problem all year," senior John Millin said. "We just can't finish games in the fourth quarter. It's unexplainable, really."

Millin scored 11 of his team-high 12 points in the second half, including a 6-of-8 showing from the foul line. His 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the third had gotten Palatine within 31-25 entering the fourth.

"We needed to score," Millin said. "So I decided it was my role at that point in the game to be one of the leaders on the floor."

Freshman guard Roosevelt Smart added 10 points for Palatine, which shot just 24 percent (13 of 54).

"We came out flat," said Millstone, who played for Round Lake coach Jim Roberts' dad, Rich, at Buffalo Grove. "Round Lake's got some athleticism, we weren't ready to play, and they were."

Round Lake seeks its third win a row Friday at home against Antioch, which the Panthers beat on Jan. 6.

"It feels pretty good," Gutierrez said. "But it's only two in a row. We're looking to go play our best basketball in March."