advertisement

Right on time, Conant comes through

It's that Conant time of year.

The Cougars displayed the form Friday night that they hope will help allow for a deep run in the Class 4A boys basketball playoffs. Their 61-51 Mid-Suburban West win over Palatine was a fluid demonstration of defense, rebounding, clutch baskets and immaculate fourth-quarter free throw shooting to conclude the division season.

Tom McCormack's team has been better and better as the season has gone on. And while his team remains young, it is no longer inexperienced.

"No one's a freshman or a sophomore anymore," said the veteran coach, who has never been reluctant to put underclassmen on the floor.

During stretches of the game, McCormack had two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior out there against Palatine.

And while his seniors - Danny Sotos (18) and Jordan Hughes (17) led the way - it was sophomore point guard Jimmy Sotos who often kept the team glued together and who hit on a drive to close the first half and help Conant turn a 16-14 first-quarter deficit into 29-21 halftime bulge.

"Jimmy Sotos was under a lot of pressure," McCormack noted.

But he handled Palatine's (20-8, 6-4) trademark pressure while keying the fastbreak opportunities, and often found the 6-foot-10 Hughes for layins against the Pirates.

"They must have done that three or four times," said Palatine coach Eric Millstone.

"He (Hughes) was a boost to us, on both ends," said McCormack. Hughes also had 3 blocked shots.

"Jordan was big," said Danny Sotos, who noted the team's postseason keys are to just keep performing well. "Especially the way we played tonight."

Kyle Bradley was big too. The junior swingman had 16 points and keyed much of Conant's (17-9, 6-4) the fourth-quarter 26-point Conant surge by going 6-for-6 at the line and providing 3 lob assists to Hughes.

"Kyle Bradley made some plays," said McCormack.

Defensively, the Cougars made it tough on 3-point sharpshooter Justin Chaney, who hit a trio of 3-pointers but had a limited number of looks. R.J. Smith played fearlessly inside against the taller Cougars and poured in 19 points, but Conant's 29-16 rebounding advantage was too much.

"Rebounding and free throws were the big difference," said McCormack, as Conant went 12-for-12 in the fourth quarter.

"They imposed their will and physicality on us," said Millstone, whose team was still holding out hope for a share of the division crown with Barrington but needed to win (and a Broncos loss) for that to happen.

Mike Williams added 10 points for the Pirates, also battling hard inside.

But in the end, Conant just had too much height and depth.

"We rebounded really well," said McCormack. "It was a real team effort."

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.