Boys basketball: Palatine squeaks by Barrington in regional final
You had to hand it to Darrin Dick on Friday night.
The Palatine senior guard dealt with a pair of banged-up hands for most of the Pirates’ 44-42 defeat of Mid-Suburban League West foe Barrington in the Class 4A Palatine boys basketball regional final.
Dick suffered a bruise/blister on the palm of his left shooting hand after hitting the hardwood hard to secure a loose ball early in the first quarter. Shortly thereafter, he dislocated the ring finger on his right hand.
“I grabbed the finger and clicked it back in,” he said after scoring 8 points and recording 3 steals in the Pirates’ third win over the Broncos this winter.
But the Pirate who received the most thunderous applause Friday night was 6-foot-4 senior forward Abram Williams. With Palatine up 44-42 with 1.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Barrington inbounded the ball following its timeout. A Bronco stationed in three-point territory just beyond the top of the key caught the high-arcing pass and elevated, attempting to eliminate the second-seeded home team with the flick of his right wrist.
That’s when Williams rocketed due north to deliver an oh-so-clean block. He then caught the descending ball near mid-court as time expired and galloped enthusiastically toward a wave of ecstatic fans who had stormed the court to celebrate.
Call it a run-off block, the distant cousin of baseball’s walk-off homer.
“I don’t even remember which hand I used to block it,” said a grinning Williams (8 points, a game-high 7 rebounds).
“Had there been time left on the clock,” Dick added, “he would have dunked it for us.”
The thrilling victory improved Palatine’s record to 29-4 and earned a berth in a Fremd sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against third-seeded Hersey (20-7), a 62-36 victor over sixth-seeded Rolling Meadows in Friday night’s Prospect regional final.
“At this time of year, you go out and get a win any way you can,” said relieved Palatine coach Eric Millstone. “Barrington came out and played a great game. Their players executed, just like we knew they would. Barrington has a proud program. We showed toughness and resolve. It wasn’t our best game, but the guys proved they’re capable of winning a meaningful game.”
And Williams risked committing a last-second foul before recording a block heard ’round Palatine and who knows how many other villages.
“Abram trusted his ability and instincts,” Millstone added.
“The kid,” Broncos coach Bryan Tucker said, “made a play.”
Senior post player Tony Balanganayi paced the winners with 18 points, 9 in each half. His bucket down low and ensuing free throw after getting fouled put Palatine up 44-42 with 22 seconds left in regulation.
Barrington’s top scorer in the 2025-26 season, senior forward Oliver Gray (21 ppg), had tied it at 41-all off an assist from sophomore guard Luke Loughlin on a fastbreak at the 2:46 mark.
A free throw off the hands of Broncos senior forward Evan Shechtman (11 points) made it 42-41 — the visitors’ last lead — with 52 seconds remaining.
Seventh-seeded Barrington, which trailed 25-22 at halftime and 34-32 after three quarters, finished with a record of 12-15, a mark that deserves an asterisk because Barrington played the third-toughest schedule in the state, Tucker noted.
“I didn’t learn anything new about my team tonight,” said Tucker. “They’re good character guys who played with great heart. They came to battle and never backed down.”
Gray wound up with team highs of 13 points and 6 boards. As he and his teammates trudged toward their locker room, a Barrington student fan said, “Thank you, Oliver.”
Broncos senior forward D.J. Young scored 6 points.
Palatine’s Brady May and Robbie Wilcox tallied 5 points apiece.
Palatine edged Barrington 52-51 in the teams’ first meeting this season and defeated the Broncos 56-42 in the second encounter at Palatine on Feb. 13.
“Grit,” Williams said Friday night. “That’s what decided this game. We needed that. Barrington played really well. Barrington can shoot.
“That’s a great team.”