Another big scoring night for Palatine

After struggling offensively early in the season, Palatine has begun to hit its stride.

For the second consecutive game, the Pirates were surging offensively, knocking down 13 3-pointers as Palatine surged past Hoffman Estates 76-55 Friday in Palatine.

“The team was setting good screens so I could get open,” said Palatine’s Roosevelt Smart, who nailed 5 treys to finish with a game-high 21 points. “I was just knocking the shots down. I am not used to shooting the ball like that. But when I feel like that, I feel like everything is going to go in for me.”

Smart got the long-distance barrage started in the first quarter for Palatine (7-4, 2-2).

The sophomore connected on all five of his first quarter shots, including 4 from outside the arc. Not to be outdone, Andy Macahon buried two from long range while Greg Grana (11 points) also hit a trey as the Pirates opened up a 29-17 advantage after one quarter.

Smart continued his bombing, connecting on his next two shots to make it 7 in a row as Palatine continued to increase its lead. The Pirates connected on 9 of their first 12 3-point shots as they built a 44-25 advantage at the break.

“We got hit early and we stayed hot,” said Macahon, who finished with 12 points. “We went into the locker room and we said we wanted to keep scoring and keep attacking. And that’s what we did.”

With the Pirates raining down threes, it opened the court for Palatine point guard Chris Macahon. The sophomore began to drive the lane, scoring 15 of his career-high 19 points in the second half, as Palatine stretched its lead to 61-31 late in the third quarter.

“We wanted to run out there tonight,” Chris Macahon said. “We put points on the board and we didn’t want to slow down out there.”

Palatine, which finished 13-of 25 from outside the arc, got 8 points from Dondre Waston, who came off the bench to help with the offense. Josh Baldus was a force on the boards for Palatine, finishing with 11 rebounds.

“The last two games we clicked,” Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. “We did a good job of moving the ball around and getting the ball to open kids. Those kids are then knocking down shots. And when you knock down shots, it is a pretty easy game.”

Hoffman Estates (1-9, 0-4) took a page from Palatine’s scoring sheet in the final quarter. The Hawks nailed 6 of the 7 3-pointers they had in the final quarter. They were led by Joe Biko, who had 12 points.

“They played a tremendous offensive game,” Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule said. “We obviously exaggerated the part by not having any energy and basically refusing to do what we have been doing for the last two weeks.”