Schaumburg able to hold off Conant
Traditionally the Conant-Schaumburg boys basketball games involve intense plays, great defense, and exciting finishes.
Friday night at Conant was no exception.
Schaumburg held on for dear life as Conant missed two shots in the game's last four seconds to secure a 48-47 win in Mid-Suburban West play.
"It was a dogfight - a tight game, just like the last one," said the Saxons' Brandon Parker after Schaumburg completed a season sweep of the Cougars. "Our defense came up with a big stop at the end. My teammates were able to get me the ball in good positions. We just had to work hard and make good moves against their zone."
The Cougars (13-8, 4-4) had fallen behind 48-41 with 2:45 left. Parker, who led the Saxons with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, had just scored for the 7-point lead.
The Cougars' Jimmy Sotos (12 points) drove the lane for a basket, Chima Oduocha hit 1 of 2 free throws, and Kyle Bradley (9 points) connected from the right corner for a 3-point basket.
Bradley's 3-pointer came with :46 left
Parker had a chance to give the Saxons (9-15, 4-3) some breathing room but missed the front end of one-and-bonus with :30 left.
Conant's Danny Sotos (11 points) attempted to connect on the game-winner with :04 left, but his shot bounced off the rim where Oduocha grabbed and shot - but it fell short.
"This win was all team effort," said Parker. "It feels really, really good to win this one."
Parker helped the Saxons to get off to a good start by scoring 9 of the Saxons' points in the first quarter as Schaumburg led 14-11 after one quarter. Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, the senior scored 7 points.
"Brandon had a great first half for us by being active in the center of their defense," said Schaumburg coach Marty Manning. "He also played really good defense in both games. We needed a really big win like this to build on going into the state tournament. We've had alot of injuries, but now we're healthy and I think we'll be a fun team to watch."
Conant's last lead was at 32-31 with :36 left in the third quarter on a 3 by Jimmy Sotos.
Jason Schoo (13 points) connected on a 3 with :12 left for a 34-32 lead, and Schaumburg was able to stay ahead the rest of the way.
"I have to give alot of credit to Charlie Quilico," said Manning. "He scored some points for us (8), but also helped set up the offense against their zone. Defensivly, when we got into a little bit of foul trouble I switched to a 2-3 zone. I felt it was a way to contend with their size."
"They hurt us in the first half when they got 6 offensive rebounds and they made some straight line drives to the basket to score," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "We made some adjustments to stop that but we just couldn't find ways to score consistently. It was just another close game that we lost. Schaumburg just did a great job in finding players with open shots."