Boys basketball: Palatine finishes strong to get past Cary-Grove
Both Palatine and Cary-Grove had something in common as they got set to face other for a Saturday afternoon nonconference match on the Pirates home court.
Both had dropped tough defeats in their respective leagues on Friday night and needed to get themselves back in the right direction as the regular season nears its conclusion in less than three weeks.
As a result of their ability to rally from a late third quarter deficit the host Pirates were able to right themselves and put together a strong final five minutes of regulation to obtain a 58-52 victory to move their record to 14-12 on the season.
"We had to bounce back after a tough loss on Friday (62-56 Mid-Suburban West loss at Barrington)," Palatine center Tony Balanganayi said.
"I'm just proud of how we came through (and) how we all had to work hard. We played so great today."
For the Pirates, that greatness showed itself when trailing the visiting Trojans 42-35 after junior guard Dylan Dumele's third trey hit nothing but net with 2:45 left in the third. It was there that senior guard Carter Monroe's two charity tosses 25 seconds later began an 11-0 tear that got the hosts a 46-42 lead thanks to a three-point play by 6-foot-6 sophomore Brady May (8 points) with 13 ticks left in the quarter.
Cary-Grove (15-10) would battle back thanks to the successful beyond the arc proficiency from junior guard A.J. Berndt (15 points, 5 of 7 from three-point range). His fourth three brought them within 46-45 at the end of the period and his fifth tied the contest at 48.
That came after what may have been the play of the game when a basket by Balanganayi (game-high 21 points, 9 rebounds) on his fourth try after three previous misses.
Balanganayi, a 6-4 junior, then put the Pirates ahead with another hoop in the paint off a feed inside from May to make it 50-48.
It began a decisive 10-4 surge over the remainder of the contest that Balanganayi fed Monroe (11 points) for a basket and May completed with a pair of free throws.
"I thought we came out a little flat in the first half and I thought (in the second half) we were more active defensively and as every team says your defense leads to your offense and I thought that turned the tide in the third quarter for us," Palatine coach Eric Millstone said.
The Trojans, who led 15-11 after one quarter and 32-27 at the break, were paced in the scoring column by junior forward Adam Bauer's 16 points, Berndt's 15, and Dumele's 11. They lost their sixth game in their last eight after a 39-38 home Fox Valley Conference loss to Hampshire on Friday night.
"Today showed me everything I need to know about our guys' character," Cary-Grove coach Adam McCloud said. "Being able to come back after a hard conference loss. These guys were invested in winning. They had no excuses for yesterday (and) came out and played their (tails) off. I'm proud of the effort."