Niles North edges Palatine
Palatine came close to advancing to the championship game of its own Ed Molitor Thanksgiving tournament.
Instead, a 1-point loss to Niles North on Friday was the Pirates’ first defeat of the season and sends them into Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. third-place game against Deerfield on the final day of tournament play.
A pair of free throws put Niles North ahead with a few seconds left, and the Pirates were unable to get a good look at the basket on the final possession.
Mike Williams led Palatine (2-1) with 19 points and Matt Ulrich had 14.
“We’ve had a lot of positives so far,” said Palatine coach Eric Millstone. “At the same time there’s a whole lot we need to work on.”
Rolling Meadows 71, Richards 52: The Mustangs opened up with a 22-point first quarter in picking up a decisive win at Palatine, their first triumph of the season.
Matt Dolan scored a game-high 22 points for Meadows (1-2), which showed good scoring balance with Calvin Gunn (9 points), Charlie Metzger (8) and Matt Wojcik (7) and Pat Kramp (7) getting in the act.
The Mustangs face Waubonsie Valley in Saturday’s fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m.
Richards and Chicago Alcott start the day with a noon tipoff, and York and Niles North play for the championship at 4:45 p.m.
Schaumburg 61, East Aurora 54: The Saxons won their second straight despite a slow start in tournament play at St. Charles East.
Trailing by a point at the half, Schaumburg (2-1) outscored East Aurora by 6 points in the third quarter and by 1 point in the fourth.
“It was a battle out there,” said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. “I didn’t think we came out very sharp or with great intensity, but to our kids’ credit, they found it in time.
“I thought the real key was our defensive effort in the second half.”
Josh Rahn led Schaumburg with 17 points, while Brendan Parker and Johnny Flynn both had 15.
Walsh is pleased to see his team, which wasn’t long on varsity experience entering the season, learning on the fly.
“Experience is the best teacher,” Walsh said. “The reason we come to this tournament is we know we’re going to play three or four really good teams. It’s nice to see our kids responding to the challenge.”
Speaking of challenges, Schaumburg will have one today in the tournament’s third-place game against Plainfield East and standout guard Aaron Jordan at 6 p.m. Indiana coach Tom Crean is expected to attend to get a closer look at Jordan’s game.
Conant 50, Highland Park 34: Joe Ranallo had a game-high 14 points and D’Angelo McBride had 10 as the Cougars (2-1) won their second straight in tournament play at St. Viator.
Luke Norcia led Highland Park with 10 points.
Elk Grove 94, South Elgin 86: Scott Furlong made a pair of 3’s and scored a game-high 30 points and Tyler Ingebrigtsen produced 19 as the Grenadiers came away with a victory in the third-place game at Fenton.
Elk Grove (3-1) scored at least 20 point in all four quarters and also got double-figure scoring efforts from Joell Melendez (13), Bryan Alcazar and Eric Pillrath (10 each).