Macahon helps power a Palatine win

Chris Macahon scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to help Palatine's boys basketball team notch a 65-49 nonconference win against visiting Glenbrook South on Saturday afternoon.

Palatine has won four of its last five and sports an 11-5 record going into Thursday night's Mid-Suburban West showdown at home against Conant.

The Pirates trailed 12-11 after one quarter but righted the ship to lead 28-22 at halftime.

"We were a little sloppy in the first quarter, " said Palatine coach Eric Millstone. "In the second quarter we seemed to find our stride and shared the ball better. Because of that, our shot selection was better."

Scott Elter's 3-pointer with :01 left in the second quarter gave the Pirates a little cushion which helped jump-start the second half.

Macahon scored 10 points in the second in different ways, enabling Palatine to take a 47-38 lead into the fourth quarter. Macahon added 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

The Titans (8-8) were not able to stage a fourth-quarter comeback as the Pirates pulled away.

"What I liked about the fourth quarter is that we built on the lead we had instead of just playing even like the last few games," said Millstone. "We put pressure on them throughout the quarter and that gave us quite a few transition baskets."

R.J. Smith came up with 2 steals that he turned into layups and scored 6 of his 8 points in the final frame. Smith also had 6 rebounds.

Justin Chaney and Jovone Stricker backed up Macahon's performance by scoring 10 points each. Mike Williams tallied 8 points to go with his team-high 11 rebounds.

Center Jimmy Martinelli led Glenbrook South with 11 points. Sean McDonough and Daniel Jenkins each scored 10 for the Titans.

The Pirates' bench again came through, scoring 17 points - which pleased Millstone.

"This time of year your looking for more contributions from kids off the bench, " said Millstone. "We got good play from everyone who came off the bench."