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Palatine handles Warren for 5th straight win

Palatine was just looking for a better seed.

But, when the Pirates were done with Warren, they had a whole garden.

Palatine planted Warren 67-44 Saturday in a nonconference tilt in Palatine. It is a game that most likely will have ramifications when the Class 4A seeds come out on Feb. 9. Both teams are assigned to the Barrington sectional and wins within the sectional usually hold more weight.

"Every game from here on out is important," Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. "We talked about that before the game. It had seeding implications and all we can do is play the games in front of us."

Palatine (18-6) is playing very well at the right time. The Pirates have won five in a row with the last four victories coming with a running clock.

"We have Ben having some games where we have been getting locked in for a quarter, " Millstone said. "We are able to get ourselves some separation and flow from there. We had a real good third quarter against Schaumburg and a real god second quarter tonight."

Thanks to a trio of baskets by Alex Daniels, Warren (14-12) took an early lead on the Pirates. Palatine then ran off eight unanswered points to pull ahead 13-8 an the Pirates never trailed from there.

It was 16-15 last in the first quarter when Palatine put the game away.

Connor May and Tyler Swierczek took turns dropping baskets on the Blue Devils. The duo each had a three-pointer and a basket as Palatine went on a 10-0 run.

May, who said he had been struggling of late, ended that slump. He would finish with 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting including 3-of-4 from outside the arc.

"I was just not shooting the ball well," May said. "I was also making careless mistakes, but my teammates and my coaches kept pushing me and encouraging me to stick with it. We like the way we came out with a win today."

Swierczek had 20 points, including a pair of three-pointers,

"It was a big win for us," Swierczek said. "In the first quarter we came out and an knew it was going to be a dogfight. Once the quarter ended we knew had to continue to bring it. And we brought it even more in the second quarter."

Palatine continued the blitzkrieg, outscoring Warren 24-2 in the second quarter. The Pirates forced nine turnovers in the quarter and limited the Blue Devils to just 1-of-5 shooting.

Warren had a tough one-point win over Lake Zurich on Friday. The Blue Devils may have come into the game with a little less energy. But that was no excuse according to coach Zack Ryan.

"We just haven't been able to put back to back good wins together," Ryan said. "They just took it to us. I think it is a good learning experience for our guys that we have to be ready to go at all times."

Warren was led by Adam Panek and Javerion Banks, who each had 10 points. Daniels finished with eight points.

Quinn Golletz added six points for Palatine while Sam Millstone chipped in five points.

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