Glenbard West loses to Palatine in West Suburban/Mid-Suburban Shootout

For those in attendance Saturday on day two of the second annual West Suburban Conference/Mid-Suburban League Shootout between Palatine and Glenbard West, they were treated to an exciting 32 minutes that saw the Pirates emerge victorious 64-56.

It marked Palatine’s sixth win in the last eight games as it returns to Mid-Suburban West play Friday at Schaumburg.

“This is a good barometer to see where you’re at because you know in this challenge you’re going to get a good matchup,” said Palatine coach Eric Millstone. “And to beat a team like that that’s had the success they continue to have, I think it’s a feather in our cap for the way we played today.”

Palatine (9-6) took a 49-44 lead into the final stanza and built that advantage to 55-46 on a drive by junior Darrin Dick with 4:52 remaining.

After the Hilltoppers (11-4) scored five straight points to close within 55-51 with 3:15 left on a 3-pointer from senior forward Drew Gacek and an inside basket from senior Dominic Seaney, the Pirates got four straight points from 6-foot-4 junior Abram Williams, including a pair from the foul line, to put the game on ice at 59-51 with 1:33 left.

Dick, who alongside junior teammate Tony Balanganayi shared leading scorer honors with 16 points apiece, credited a week of solid practices for getting them prepared for a contest where they found themselves at a height disadvantage.

The Pirates’ starting five’s 6-2 average was a couple of inches shorter than Glenbard West’s.

“We knew they were a little bigger and we knew we had to be the tougher team,” Dick said. “All of us rebound. We fought hard and it was big for us to get rebounds even with our height disadvantage.“

Williams added 13 points and eight rebounds, while senior swingman Kasey May added 10 points for the Pirates.

Glenbard West starting junior guard T.J. Williams scored 13 to pace the Hilltoppers in the scoring column followed by 6-8 senior center Mike O’Connell’s 11-point, eight-rebound effort.

“We were searching for energy, for that (certain) spark,” said Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka, whose team begins a 10-day break until returning to West Suburban Silver action against Proviso West. “You got to fight through adversity and you got to find it within yourself and today we didn’t do it. They attacked us. Their big (Balanganayi) was tough. A load inside. They had some shooters on the outside. We strive to win every single game, but our game plan wasn’t fantastic and hats off to Palatine for coming ready to play.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250104/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-palatine-pulls-out-win-over-glenbard-west-at-msl-wsc-challenge/