Tuesday night was the first game of the upcoming Martin Luther King Tournament for the Pirates as they took on Vernon Hills. In their first home game in a month, Palatine took care of the Cougars 51-42.

After a rough first quarter, the Pirates (11-4) trailed 12-6. Four of Palatine’s six first quarter points came off free throws. After trailing for a majority of the second quarter, Palatine finally took a 22-19 lead going into the locker room behind the play of senior Chris Refka, who finished with 17 points.

In the third quarter the Pirates continued to play harder than the visiting Cougars (7-8). Dougherty had 21 for the visitors and O’Connell added on 11. Good defense throughout the night for the home team saw Vernon Hills go without a free throw. The Pirates went 8-11 from the foul line.

Sophomore Johnny O’Shea added on 13 for the Pirates, and seniors Charlie Van Dyke and Matt Ulrich both contributed with 8 points each.

Just like they have all year, the Pirates were able to close out the game strong against the Cougars, only allowing 6 points in the final frame. The win marked the Pirates ninth win in the last ten contests.

Palatine will take their 1-0 record into the MLK weekend tournament and try to win the Lake Zurich championship for the first time on the 16th and 18th of this month.

Palatine returns to action Friday night as they try to gain control of the conference against Conant at home. On Saturday, the Pirates play at Glenbrook South.