Warren fends off Palatine’s rally
Despite never leading in their nonconference showdown at Warren Saturday night, Palatine put together a great comeback after falling behind the Blue Devils by 15 points early in the second half.
Little by little, the Pirates (18-7) continued to chip away at Warren's lead before a 3-pointer by Darrin Dick cut the gap to 55-53 with 19 seconds to play.
The Blue Devils survived the big scare as freshman Jaxson Davis (15 points, 10 assists) calmly hit two free throws with 15.4 seconds remaining to boost the lead to 57-53.
Palatine turned the ball over with six seconds left only to get the ball back with 2.3 seconds to go after traveling by Warren (22-4). Palatine standout Connor May (game-high 24 points, 8 rebounds) did nail a 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded, but the Blue Devils held on for a 57-56 victory.
The Pirates trailed 26-12 on a 3-pointer by Warren's Alex Daniels (10 points) as Warren had seven different players hit treys. The Blue Devils had six turnovers in the fourth quarter to four turnovers for Palatine.
"Down the stretch we need to make better decisions with the ball. But kudos to Palatine. They hit shots down the stretch and it was tough to defend them," said Davis, whose team led 33-21 at halftime and 46-39 after three quarters. "I felt like I got my teammates going with a few assists. I think that we really needed those 3's (10 total) because if we didn't hit those we would have been in big trouble."
Warren's balanced effort also saw Braylon Walker score 9 points and Josh Stewart score 6 points. The Pirates got 12 points from Tony Balanganayi while teammates Carter Monroe and Dick scored 7 points each. Palatine's Tommy Elter had 6 points.
"Our execution wasn't great in the end there, but to get out of here with a win against a good team after having a tough game last night is good for our guys," said Warren coach Zack Ryan, whose team beat Lake Zurich 51-46 on Friday. "Last night we shot 27 percent. Tonight it was nice against their zone to hit some shots and when we hit shots like that we're a tough team to beat."
Palatine coach Eric Millstone was happy with the grit and resilience his team showed as a 16-5 third-quarter run got his squad back in the game.
"That's a high-level team, and with what we're trying to do in the postseason we need to see teams like that during the regular season," Millstone said. "And they test you and they hold you accountable at both ends of the floor. The first 16 minutes I thought we were a little sluggish for whatever reason, but I thought the fight that we showed in the last 16 minutes is who we really are."