Sophs help Palatine top Conant, stay tied for 1st with Barrington
Palatine leaned on its youth to stay in contention in the Mid-Suburban West Tuesday.
Sophomores Darren Dick and Tony Balanganayi combined for 25 points and made some huge plays when needed as they Pirates held off Conant 52-46 in Palatine.
The win kept Palatine (19-7, 7-1) even with Barrington atop the MSL West with two games to play. Those teams match up a week from Friday to end the regular conference schedule.
“Anytime that you play Conant and the way they are playing now, it is a good win,” Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. “Considering what's at stake, this is a real big win for us.”
The last time Palatine and Conant played each other, Palatine’s Connor May torched the Cougars for 31 points. On Tuesday, May had 16 and drew attention from Conant wherever he was on the floor.
That's why it was important for not just Dick and Balanganayi to get free and make plays, but senior Tommy Elter along with juniors Kasey May and Carter Monroe.
“They say the best thing about sophomores is that they become juniors,” Millstone said. “Our sophomores are growing up quickly. By leaps and bounds. Connor understands it is a not a one-man show. So the more help we can give him, the better it will bode for our team.”
Conant (13-10, 4-4), which was coming in with a six-game winning streak, came out of the locker room with lots of intensity.
The Cougars knocked down three of their first five shots, with two of those coming from outside the arc. Bradley Biedke then added a pair of free throws as Conant jumped to a 9-2 lead.
But a technical foul on Conant ruined their momentum and their lead. Palatine would score the final seven points of the quarter as Conant would miss their final eight shots.
After a field goal by the Cougars’ Camden Lathos gave them the lead, Palatine found its shooting eye. The Pirates converted their next five field goals thanks to a trio of layups by May and a three-pointer by Darrin Dick as Palatine opened up a 20-11 advantage.
Conant was able to chip away at the lead in the final 97 seconds as Palatine led 21-16 at the break.
Then it was time for the Palatine sophomores to show their stuff.
Dick nailed a pair of threes from each corner and Balanganayi had three baskets inside along with a pair of rebounds as Palatine surged ahead 36-29 after three quarters.
“Coach Millstone puts me in the right spots,” said Dick, who would finish with 13 points. “He knows where I like to shoot. Connor (May) and Tommy (Elter) have taken us and the juniors under their wing. They just have wanted to win all the time. It is just win, win, win.”
Palatine appeared to be in command when Monroe hit a short jumper to make it 45-34 with 4:10 left.
Conant then had its best offensive spurt of the game.
They scored five points from the free-throw line and then got a three-pointer from Camden Lathos (20 points) to make it 45-42.
After a layup by Dick, Conant added a free throw from Yusuf Cisse (6 points) and a three-pointer from Nate Hahn to make it 47-46 with 1:20 to play.
But Connor May made a sweet pass to his brother Kasey May (6 points) for an easy layup to make it 49-46 with 51.6 seconds left.
Conant was looking for the tie, but Balanganayi stepped in front of a pass on the wing to steal the ball. Dick would follow with pair of free throws to make it 51-46 with 22 seconds left.
Elter then followed with steal near half court and Balanganayi added a free throw to close out the scoring.
“We all have different roles,” said Balanganayi, who finished with 14 points. “My role is to play big. I also read that play at the end.”
Conant coach Matt Walsh said he was proud of how his team competed.
“I thought they played real hard,” Walsh said. “We have got better consistently the second half of the season. We still feel we have a lot of room for improvement.”