A transformational win for BG at Palatine
Buffalo Grove was a team in transition Tuesday in Palatine.
The Bison went from pretty to ugly to downright beautiful in a 51-32 Mid-Suburban League crossover win.
"Both teams missed lots of shots early " Buffalo Grove coach Keith Peterson said. "They were missing lots of good looks and just couldn't put the ball in the basket there. We have been playing well lately, and this is a big road win for us."
The first half was more like a lesson in futility as Buffalo Grove led 13-12 at the break. The teams combined for 17 turnovers and shot 24 percent (10-for-42).
Buffalo Grove (10-7) at first appeared to be on cruise control after racing out to an 11-0 lead. During that span Palatine missed its first 10 shots and turned the ball over 3 times.
The Pirates (10-6) got in the board with 1:50 left in the first quarter on a short jumper by Julian Campbell. That seemed to turned the tide a bit for the Pirates, as it was Buffalo Grove's turn at missed shots.
The Bison converted just 1 of their next 12 shots and turned the ball over 8 times until the end of the half.
Palatine got its only lead early in the third quarter when Cortez Hogans dropped in a short jumper to put the Pirates up 14-13 with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
Buffalo Grove went to the low post play of Mac Camardo and Tom Trieb to jump-start the struggling offense. With Camardo patrolling the baseline and Trieb dancing through the key, the Buffalo Grove offense finally began to ignite.
"I thought Tom (Trieb) and I worked real well against their 2-3," Camardo said. "We just did a lot of high-low, with Tom staying mostly in the high spot. He would drive and take it or then drop it off to me. Once we had that going, we were able to get more open shots for 3s and stuff."
With Camardo (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Trieb (10 points, 9 rebounds) doing the work inside, the offense did open up for Jack Vaselaney (10 points) to drill a pair of 3s as the Bison opened up a 30-22 lead with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
"We were just missing our shots in the first half," Trieb said. "But we just played bigger in the second half and that opened up things for us."
Palatine made a final run as the Pirates closed to 34-31 with five minutes to play on a basket by Lamon Berry.
Caleb Mayhorn then drained a 3 for Buffalo Grove and the Bison stampeded their way to a 17-1 run to close out the game.
"I think the inside play got us going," said Mayhorn, who finished with 13 points. "We started like that in the first quarter but we went away from it. We just transitioned back to that in the second half and that made the difference."
Peterson said making those shots early got the Bison rolling.
"We had a couple shots go in for us early and that was a huge help," Peterson said. "And I thought our defensive intensity was good throughout the whole game. We were then able to play with some good pace."
Palatine coach Eric Millstone said inconsistent play has hurt his squad.
"That how it has been for us this year." Millstone said. "There are some games we look real good and some games we can't get out of our own way. You have to give Buffalo Grove credit, they played well defensively and picked their spots offensively."
Berry led Palatine with 13 points while Hogans had 7 points and 12 rebounds and Johnny O'Shea had 6 points.