advertisement

Seniors shine as Palatine scores triumph over Elk Grove

Senior basketball players were in the spotlight at Palatine High School Saturday night.

The host Pirates used the strength of their seniors to secure a 70-39 win over Elk Grove in a Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover.

Seniors Brandon Storm and Luke Seiffert, who regularly start for Palatine, scored 14 and 9 points respectively. David Onyekonwu added 10 points and 5 rebounds in his first start. Julian Campbell, in his second game back from a high ankle sprain, led the 4-5 Pirates with 18 points.

"It's always fun to cheer on your teammates who don't always get on the court that much," said Storm. "It's nice to cheer them on and to give them constructive criticism. It uplifts everyone when we share the excitement."

Storm scored 9 points in the first quarter and Seifert 6 as Palatine led the 0-7 Grenadiers 29-11 at quarter's end. Palatine led 46-24 at halftime and coasted to the win.

"It's a little bittersweet for those two," said Palatine coach Eric Millstone of Storm and Seiffert. "They have two weeks left in the season and then it's gone. We're enjoying the opportunities we've had this year."

"We were thinking tonight as to how we can carry this win over to next week," said Seiffert. "We're trying to carry over the good things we did tonight and what we did well against Fremd. We play some good teams next week and we want to get out of it with some wins."

Millstone was happy with the return of Campbell, a senior who played 13 minutes against Fremd.

"It's nice to have Campbell back," said Millstone. "Once he gets back into better shape you are going to start to see the player that you have seen the last three years.

"Tonight it was nice to get the seniors in the game and get some players (Colin McNichols and Dominic Gac) in who might not normally get a start. Considering everything that these players have gone through with basketball and the school year it was nice to see them have a good experience tonight. The fact that we have been playing basketball this year is remarkable."

Elk Grove has been bitten by the injury bug and only dressed eight players for the game.

Sophomore Garrett Ewen led the Grenadiers with 15 points. Brandon Burns added 9 points.

"We're putting a lot on a 15-year old (Ewen) to lead our offense," said Elk Grove coach Nick Oraham. "He's getting experience at this level. He had his best game of the season last night and tonight he bettered that. He continues to get better for us. He's going to end up being a three-year starter for us.

"Burns is our lone senior who gets the big minutes for us. He's a stable player and he has the best basketball IQ on this team. This season has been tough for all of us."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.