Boys basketball: WW South turns to its defense to get past Palatine

Palatine got the tough test it wanted to get at Saturday’s DuKane vs. Mid-Suburban League Shootout at Lake Park, but the Pirates did not get the victory they had hoped for against Wheaton Warrenville South.

Palatine coach Eric Millstone was excited to see his team face the fundamentally solid Tigers (12-4), but in the end his team came up short 48-42. The Tigers came up with big defensive plays at just the right time and also connected on 19 of 21 free throws.

“We were really looking forward to this game because Wheaton South sort of set the standard for playing hard and playing the right way,” said Millstone, whose team dropped a conference game to Schaumburg on Friday. “So I thought we battled, just credit to Wheaton South. They were very patient offensively, and extremely physical defensively.”

The 9-8 Pirates played their second straight game without point guard Carter Monroe, who was out with the stomach flu and a thumb injury. The Tigers defense forced 16 turnovers including 6 in the fourth quarter, which had started with WW South on top just 32-29.

“We got the game tied and had a couple chances to take the lead but Wheaton South just made more plays than we did,” Millstone added. “Going against them is not an easy task. They generate turnovers and they make you uncomfortable offensively, and I think that got to us in the fourth quarter when we needed a couple big possessions.”

Forward Brady Goken started fast with three field goals in a defensive first quarter and he tallied 11 of his game-high 18 in the first half, which ended with the Tigers ahead 23-15. Fellow forward Luca Carbonaro was a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line and finished with 17 points, but it was defense that really paved the way for WW South to cap off its weekend with a second straight victory.

“I thought we defended well. We talked with this group starting in the summer, that when you’re not shooting well, and we kind of haven’t this year, can we try and win a game 48-42 and grind it out,” Tigers coach Mike Healy said. “And they’re a tough matchup. That big kid [Tony Balanganayi] is a tough matchup.”

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Balanganayi scored inside to tie the game at 27-27 in the third quarter on his way to a team-high 17 points and 8 rebounds, but the Tigers answered with a 3-pointer from Zach Rogers and a steal and layup from Connor Butler. The game was back and forth from there but defense and free throws carried the Tigers to the win.

“Coach Healy has really been on us in practice about defense and about pushing our possessions,” said Goken. “Over the last couple games we’ve really locked in defensively and defense leads to offense creating a lot of fastbreak points for us. Overall this was just a good win for us tonight.”

The Tigers senior got a kick out of playing in the Shootout.

“It’s awesome. It really reminds me of college basketball and how so many conferences have their own tournaments and it’s good to see other teams,” Goken said.

Forward Abram Williams had 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Pirates, while Kasey May and Darrin Dick each added 6 points.

Prospect 55, Batavia 47

The Knights (8-9) used a balanced attack to prevail despite a 30-point effort from the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-8 Jax Abalos. Senior guard Ryan Lifton paced Prospect, which led 34-23 at the half, with 18 points. Colin Tucker added 11 points and Quinn Zinzer 7 as eight different Knights scored.

Batavia (7-9) got five 3-pointers and the 30 points from Abalos, but only four players scored. Brett Berggren tallied 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Schaumburg 63, St. Charles North 50

In the first contest on Saturday morning, the Saxons (13-6) jumped ahead 15-7 after one quarter behind three baskets from 6-foot-8 senior Zion Young, who finished with a game-high 19 points. Schaumburg’s lead grew to 32-21 at the half despite some hot shooting by the North Stars’ Cooper Mellican, who hit a pair of 3s as he scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.

Jordan Tunis added 14 points for the winners and Tony Horton and James Shogren each added 8 points. Jake Love knocked down a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points for St. Charles North (4-11).

Hoffman Estates 57, St. Charles East 50

The Hawks (14-5) stormed ahead 15-3 after one quarter and then held off their DuKane counterparts in Saturday morning action. Four players scored in double figures for Hoffman Estates led by 18 points from Daiquan Daniels. Torey Baskin scored 8 of his 10 points in the Hawks’ strong first quarter, and Joey Hernandez and Nate Cleveland also scored in double figures.

For the Saints (8-9), Marco Klebosits led the attack with 13 points and Michael Hill added 8.

Wheaton North 68, Wheeling 47

The Falcons (8-8) used a dominant second half to erase a 27-22 halftime deficit and win by 21. Guard Henry Schlickman led Wheaton North with 21 points, tallying 15 points over the final two quarters and finishing with five 3-pointers in the contest. William Channing added 11 points for the Falcons.

For Wheeling (8-10), Brent Collar scored a team-high 16 and Zach Neukirch joined him in double figures with 10 points.

Hersey 61, Glenbard North 46

The Huskies (13-3) built a 35-22 lead at the half on their way to knocking off the Panthers. Charlie Pomus tallied 14 of his game-high 22 points over the first two quarters for Hersey. Six-foot-7 Jackson Hupp added 11 points and Brody Variano 10 for the Huskies.

For Glenbard North (8-8), sophomore Oturo Redento scored 13 points, Matt Welch had 10 and Jack Schager added 9.