Palatine holds Conant to 16 in MSL win

A couple of Santa Clauses took in a Mid-Suburban League West boys basketball game at Palatine Friday night.

They sat and bounced occasionally in the Pirates' festive student section for the game against Conant and had exactly 33 reasons - Palatine's victorious point total - to remain jolly.

Conant was a North Pole-like 5-for-30 from the field in the 33-16 decision.

"Give credit to Palatine," said Cougars coach Matt Walsh, whose club trailed 9-4 after one quarter and 13-7 at the break. "That's a very good team, and Eric (Pirates coach Millstone) does a great job. His players had a lot to do with our struggle to score.

"We played well defensively, again, and we had good looks, but at times it looked like there was a lid on the rim."

Only three Pirates scored Friday night. Junior guard Connor May turned in another all-MSL-esque performance, tallying 18 points (55 percent of the Pirates' offense). Senior forward Tyler Swierczek (three 3-pointers) poured in 10 of his 13 points in the second half, and classmate Sam Millstone (4 rebounds) netted a pair of free throws and led all players in facial injuries, with 1.

The reliable, tenacious guard suffered a gash above his right eye in the first quarter but returned to action with a bloodstained jersey and a bandage covering part of his right eyebrow a couple of minutes later.

"You know what you're getting into when you play Conant," said Eric Millstone, whose squad improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the MSL West. "You're going to have to play a grind-it-out game, and that's what you saw. Matt's teams are always tough.

"A Conant defense," he continued, "is always solid, sound and disciplined."

Each possession in Friday's tangle was uber-precious.

"We told the guys during the week how important it would be to take care of the ball and to be efficient, because you never know when you're going to get the ball back," coach Millstone said. "The game plodded along for a while.

"We had a couple of breakdowns, defensively, but I'm proud of how we limited their looks and tried to get a hand in a face during every shot."

Conant (5-3, 1-2) netted the first points of the night, getting a bucket from 6-foot-3 junior Shreyas Talluri at 3:46 of the first quarter.

The 6-7 May (game-high 6 rebounds) answered with a field goal 12 seconds later.

May, off a brisk, crosscourt pass from junior guard Tommy Elter, hit a jumper to beat the buzzer at the end of the first frame.

Palatine 9, Conant 4.

The teams combined for a scant 7 points (Palatine had 4) in the second quarter.

The hosts struck for 7 of the third quarter's first 9 points to secure a 20-9 advantage at 4:11. Conant trailed only 20-11 in the final minute of the stanza, thanks to 2 free throws from junior Yusuf Cisse (5 points).

But the Pirates' defense remained a stifling force, allowing only 5 points in the final 8 minutes.

Swierczek sandwiched a trey and a field goal around a May field goal in a 1 minute, 55-second span in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Neither team scored in the final 3:28.

"Great game, great win for us," Swierczek said. "Conant is such a disciplined team, offensively and defensively. Not many sprint-outs tonight, from either team."

Both Swierczek and May praised Palatine's white (scout) team for preparing the starters.

"Every player on that team had a good week," May said.

"They mimicked Conant's offense well," Swierczek added. "They picked us apart in practice, running what Conant likes to run."

Conant's Bradley Biedke, a 6-5 sophomore, finished with 5 points and 4 boards. Junior teammate Camden Lathos had 4 points and 4 rebounds.