Andrew solves Palatine
It took the Andrew boys basketball team some time to figure out Palatine's defense Thursday night at York High School.
Once they did, the Thunderbolts dispatched the Pirates 70-61 in the winner's consolation bracket at the 44th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.
Andrew found itself trailing 17-8 after a first quarter in which Palatine seemed to do everything right.
Lamon Berry scored 11 of his 14 points in the quarter and things looked rosy.
"What they were doing," said Palatine coach Eric Millstone, "was picking their spots against our defense to get their shots off."
Palatine led 21-14 with 6:13 left in the first half following David Balanganayi's basket from underneath.
Andrew then went on a 15-0 run to lead 29-21 with 2:50 left in the second quarter.
Evan Yerkes connected on back-to-back 3s, which was followed by back-to-back baskets by Mike DeHaan. Dan Gierhan scored from beyond the arc, which was followed by Connor Gountounas' steal and score.
Palatine trailed 34-25 at the break.
"They (Palatine) kind of lulled us to sleep with their zone in the first quarter," said Yerkes. "We got our energy going and moved the ball, like in ping-pong. We found open shots and we were making them. We're a dangerous team when we shoot from the outside."
Andrew hit 6 of its 12 3-pointers in the second quarter.
Palatine showed spirit in the second half.
Johnny O'Shea (17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) continued his strong play, with 11 points coming in the second half. Cortez Hogans scored all of his 12 points in the second half. He also had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Every time Andrew (8-5) began to pull away, Palatine (9-5) found a way to come back.
"We hung in there and played hard to the end," said Millstone. "In our losses, it just seems that we have a 8- to 10-minute lull where we don't play well. I think that can be fixed."
"Palatine gave us trouble with their zone in the first quarter," said Andrew coach Dave Wilson. "They did a good job taking us out of our offense. We looked for our shooters in the second quarter and we began to hit. But what I am most proud of is that we had 19 assists on our 19 baskets. That's something."
Yerkes led the Thunderbolts with 24 points, which included six 3s. Troy Murphy also did big damage with 22 points.
Palatine did shoot well, hitting 50 percent of its shots from the field.
"We do shoot well within the arc," said Millstone. "We just have to get some improvement from our perimeter game."
"I think we did a good job adjusting to their offense in the second half," said O'Shea. "We wanted to stay within striking distance but it just wasn't enough to get us closer. We did some good things out on the floor tonight. We just need to keep learning from our mistakes."
Palatine and Andrew played even in the second half, with each team scoring 36 points.