May’s last-second shot sends Palatine past Warren for 1st state berth
Tommy Elter wanted to throw a touchdown pass to Connor May this fall. Unfortunately May broke his hand in Palatine’s first football game.
But the duo got their chance to make up for that Monday night in DeKalb.
Elter threw a perfect pass that split two Warren defenders right under the basket. May grabbed the ball and then made a move around them for a perfect bounce off the backboard with 1.4 seconds left as Palatine stunned Warren 55-53 in the Class 4A supersectional at Northern Illinois University.
With the win Palatine (28-8) will be making its first trip to the state finals.
“If you would have asked me where I was going to be on a Monday night in March I would have said I would been home on my couch watching basketball,” Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. “But this is a testament to the work these guys have put in and their fight and resiliency.”
The Pirates will play Normal in the state semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday in Champaign. Normal beat Downers Grove North 53-29 in their supersectional at Illinois State.
“Connor took over,” said Elter, Palatine’s QB the last two years. “It shows what kind of a leader he is. I threw the ball to him and I knew he would get it.”
May, who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, said they had plenty of practice on that play.
“We worked on this play all week,” May said. “Our coach always knows what to do and when to do it. This matters to all these guys more than anything.”
Millstone said Elter and May executed the play perfectly.
“That is what we drew up,” Millstone said. “We have had this in our back pocket since the playoffs started. We are pulling it out when we needed a bucket late. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Palatine found themselves in a situation that they had not experience in over a week — leading at the end of the first quarter. And not just leading, but dominating play.
With Tony Balanagayi playing tough inside and May bombing a pair of threes, including one at the horn, the Pirates led 23-12.
Warren (31-5) came roaring back thanks to its pressure defense.
The Blue Devils had three steals, two of which came from Jaxson Davis, which he converted into driving layups. Braylon Walker (7 points) and Alex Daniels (8 points) also converted a pair of field goals as Warren got within one.
Balanganayi would add a pair of late free throws as Palatine led 31-28 at the half.
With May leading the way in the third quarter, Palatine opened a 40-30 lead. May’s layup off a sweet feed from Elter with 4:20 left in the third quarter gave the Pirates some breathing room.
Jack Wolf (7 points) hit a three and then grabbed an offensive rebound and got a putback as Warren closed to 44-37 after three quarters.
After Balanganayi’s basket made it 46-37, Warren turned up the heat. The Blue Devils hit their next four shots including a driving layup by Javerion Banks to tie the game at 46-46 with 5:39 to play.
The game was tied again at 48-48. Warren had numerous opportunities to pull ahead, but not only did the Blue Devils miss their next six shots, they missed six free throws as well.
Palatine pulled ahead 53- 48 on a basket by Balanganayi (19 points) and a three-point play by Darrin Dick (6 points). Warren tied it again on a basket by Walker and three-pointer by Davis (19 points) with 46 seconds left.
Palatine held the ball for the final shot with Millstone calling timeout with 10 seconds left to set the final play.
“Warren came at us in waves,” Millstoen said. “They really turned it into a track meet. But we got enough stops and rebounds when we needed to.”
Warren coach Zack Ryan said that poor free-throw shooting (5-of-15) and some sloppy play at times hurt his team.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” said Ryan, whose team’s 11-game winning streak was snapped.
“We missed a lot of free throws and could never get over the hump. We had a good year and hopefully we will learn from this.”
Carter Monroe added seven points for Palatine.