Wednesday night was not the Pirates night. In a game where there was no room for errors, Palatine made too many. The Pirates saw Elk Grove (19-9) earlier in the year during the Holiday Tournament, winning a close contest by four. The Grenadiers were out for revenge and was able to walk away 55-41 victors and set a date with Conant for the Regional championship.

The game started out with both teams trying to grasp a lead. After the Pirates first possession took a minute off the clock, ending with a layup from senior Matthew Mayer, Elk Grove was able to respond quickly with a layup of their own. The Pirates managed to get out of the first frame leading by one.

The second quarter was just like the previous one, both teams struggling to take the lead and maintain it. A few too many turnovers by the Pirates gave the Grenadiers too many chances on offense. Fortunately for the Pirates, Elk Grove didn’t take advantage of their opportunities and the teams entered the half tied at 25 a piece.

At the beginning of the second half it was Elk Grove who came out faster. Behind Fulton Wingba’s 21 point effort they were able to have a 33-30 lead going into the final eight minutes. At the end of three the Pirates have already turned the ball over 14 times, but had only allowed 5 points to be scored off of them.

“It wasn’t a good night to not take care of the ball,” said Palatine coach Eric Millstone. “Elk Grove did a nice job playing defense on us with their (2-3) zone. They did a nice job taking up space. Credit them for their defense. That was the difference.”

In the fourth quarter seniors Matt Ulrich, Jason Jarrett, Charlie Van Dyke, Chris Refka, Jovone Stricker, and Matthew Mayer were in desperation mode trying to save their season. Once again, the Pirates were not able to take care of the ball, committing 25 turnovers over the span of the game.

Seniors Mike Hillmer, Thomas Nalley, and Hunter Lindell all got to get in the game for one final time in their high school careers.

It’s not the way anyone wants to go out, but the Pirates still need to feel a sense of accomplishment finishing with an overall record of 17-3.