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Palatine takes 2 OTs to finish at Hoffman Estates

It's not very often you hold your opponent to zero points in the game's first 10:49 while grabbing a 15-0 lead - and then need two overtimes to win.

But that's what happened in Palatine's wild 48-38 victory at Hoffman Estates on Friday night in Mid-Suburban West boys basketball.

With Palatine's win and Fremd's loss to Schaumburg, the Pirates have stepped into the MSL West lead at 3-1. The Vikings are 2-2; Barrington and Conant are both 2-1 and will play one another on Friday, Jan. 5.

"It's going to be like this every Friday night," said Palatine coach Eric Millstone. "The teams are so evenly matched."

Palatine (8-3 overall) has a 4-game win streak heading into next week's tournament action. The Pirates open up against Lyons Township on Tuesday in the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York.

Pirates seniors Lamon Berry (19 points, 5 rebounds) and Johnny O'Shea were a force in the overtime periods.

O'Shea's 3 to start the second overtime that gave the Pirates a 41-38 lead with 3:35 remaining.

Berry hit 5 of 8 free throws and O'Shea added 2 free throws as Palatine blanked Hoffman Estates (4-6, 1-3) in that second OT.

"I thought both O'Shea and Berry stepped up their game in the overtime," said Millstone. "You have to rely on seniors in a close game. This was a good example of not how you start, but how you finish."

The Hawks shot 0-for-8 from the field in the first quarter as they trailed Palatine 11-0. The trend continued until James Allen banked in a shot with 5:11 left in the second quarter to make it 15-2.

Hoffman Estates used three straight 3s to close the gap to 18-11 before settling on a 20-11 deficit at the halftime break.

"We had good shots," said Hawks coach Luke Yanule. "They just weren't falling for us. We felt pretty good that we only trailed by 9 at that halftime."

Hoffman Estates chipped away, closing the gap to 27-21 after three quarters as the Pirates had trouble finding the basket. Marquis Woodard scored 5 of his 10 points in the quarter, all on free throws.

Hoffman Estates' Brendan Thompson (10 points, 5 rebounds) tied the game at 31 on a putback basket with :43 left.

O'Shea's jumper as time expired on regulation missed the mark.

Marshall Davis hit 2 free throws and then converted a 3-point play to start the first overtime. A basket by Thompson gave Hoffman Estates a 38-31 lead with 1:24 left in the first overtime.

But O'Shea converted on a 3-point play and scored on an assist from Berry before Berry tied the game with :08 left.

"I've struggled with my shot at times this season," said O'Shea. "Even when we were down 7 in the overtime, we talked in the timeout that if we pulled together we could still win. Lamon's basket to tie the game was a great play."

"When I had the ball, I tried to go strong to the basket," said Berry. "If I couldn't make it, I kicked it out to Johnny, who made the shots."

In the first OT, the Hawks missed 4 free throws which could have lengthened their lead. The Hawks did convert on 8 of 13 foul shots.

"I'm proud of my players, of the way we came back after being down," said Yanule. "Sometimes we are our own worst opponent in rebounding, free throws and turnovers. It was a shame that some one had to have less points in this game."

"Both teams showed a lot of fight ," said Millstone. "Tonight is an example how you have to enjoy and embrace every win."

  Hoffman Estates' Julian Nelson Pablo and William Nune go over Palatine's Johnny O'Shea in pursuit of a loose ball during the visiting Pirates' double-overtime win Friday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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