Boys Basketball: Schaumburg escapes Palatine

Updated: January 6, 2012 9:40PM

Schaumburg’s Thomas Byrne is a patient guy.

Byrne was on the bench for nearly three quarters Friday in Schaumburg. But when Saxons coach Matt Walsh called for the senior, Byrne was not only ready, he delivered.

Byrne drilled a three-pointer just before the end of the third quarter and then nailed five free throws down the stretch to help Schaumburg hold off Palatine 47-37 in the Mid-Suburban West.

“I just got in and wanted to do something to help the team,” said Byrne, who finished with eight points.

“I had a couple of opportunities to make some free throws too, so I finished the game well. I thought we played well as a team in the second half, too. “

“We were trailing at halftime and didn’t panic,” Walsh said. “We played with lots of energy in the second half.”

The start was not as good for Schaumburg (11-4, 3-1) as the Saxons struggled early.

Palatine (1-14, 0-4) gave Schaumburg’s offense fits in thr first half. Palatine continued to switch its zone defenses on almost every possession, limiting Schaumburg to just 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting.

Palatine led 29-28 late in the third quarter. But Byrne connected on a three just before the end of the quarter to put Schaumburg up for good.

Byrne’s basket seemed to give the Saxons energy as it ingnited a 7-0 run. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Schaumburg forced five fourth-quarter turnovers and kept Palatine away from the basket.

“We clamped down on our defense,” Walsh said. “We also got some timely shooting and found a way to win a tough game.”

Michael Mallett and Kyle Bolger each had 10 points to lead Schaumburg while Christiam Spandiary chipped in seven points. Palatine was led by John Millin who had 17 points.

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