Saturday night’s conference match-up against rival Schaumburg (5-16, 2-4) was a chance for Palatine (15-8, 4-2) to keep pace in the West. The Pirates were up to the task.

Even with sophomore starter Johnny O’Shea out, Palatine was just as resilient on both ends of the floor. O’Shea’s vacancy was filled by senior sharp shooter Charlie Van Dyke, who co-lead the team in points along with senior Matthew Mayer with 11 each.

The Pirates led from the opening tip, until the final buzzer sounded. Head Coach Eric Millstone credited the scout team for the win, “We had a really good week of preparation,” Millstone said. “The scout team did a real good job of running Schaumburg’s stuff.” The scout team also got awarded for their effort in practice by getting to play on Saturday.

Palatine had their best shooting half of the year in the first two quarters, shooting 15-22 from the field, and taking a 35-23 lead into the locker room.

Schaumburg’s 2-3 zone which they run efficiently, was no match for the Pirates. Senior captains Jovone Stricker (8 points) and Matt Ulrich (6 points) were able to penetrate the zone again and again to set themselves and their teammates up for shots.

“It’s all about penetration. Get it inside and kick it out, which Ulrich and Stricker did well at. Their mentality is to score. If they see someone rotate inside (on defense), they kick it out” said Millstone.

Palatine’s offense forced the Saxons to abandon their zone and go to man defense for most of the second half. The defensive change was not enough for Schaumburg as the Pirates never gave the lead up.

Schaumburg’s Kenneth Travis led the contest with 14 points, and Kameron Powell added on 13 for the visitors.
The Pirates next game will be Friday night as they travel to conference leading Conant (12-4, 6-0) to try and keep pace in the MSL West.