advertisement

Hughes, Conant stun Barrington for title

Conant boys basketball coach Tom McCormack has been waiting two years for 6-foot-10 senior Jordan Hughes to assert himself.

Friday in the Class 4A regional final at Rolling Meadows, Hughes did exactly that. He scored 14 points with 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to lead No. 9 seed Conant past top-seeded Barrington 53-43.

Conant (19-9) will play St. Viator in the sectional semifinal Tuesday at Barrington at 7 p.m.

It has been a long, arduous journey for Hughes, who broke his foot last year just before the season tipped off.

He missed all of the season and came back to play last summer.

But not until the last few weeks has Hughes caught fire for the Cougars.

"Coach McCormack said we need to be playing our best basketball at playoff time and I am," Hughes said. "My teammates have picked me up all season and now it is my turn."

Hughes came up big in situation after situation Friday.

His huge frame gave him a weight advantage when he dueled against Barrington's Rapolas Ivanauskas while converting two of his baskets off offensive rebounds.

"It was a tremendous team effort, but how about Jordan Hughes?" McCormack said. "He has been showing signs all year long. He scored, he defended, he outletted the ball and he showed great composure.

"Not only was he consistent throughout the game scoring and blocking shots and rebounding, he kind of kept the wheels on the wagon as a leader."

The two teams, which had split games in January, reacquainted themselves as Conant led 14-12 after one quarter.

The difference was that Hughes played sparingly in both of those games.

He set the tone early, scoring 6 of those points in the opening period.

"I wanted to come out strong and establish myself," said Hughes, who had 3 rebounds in the quarter. "I knew with their big guys, I had to play well."

Trailing 18-14 early in the second quarter, Barrington's Chris Lester heated up for the Broncos (23-7). Lester scored 6 consecutive points to put Barrington up 20-18.

Conant sophomore guard Jimmy Sotos then sparked the Cougars.

After a slow start, Sotos hit a driving basket and followed it up with a 3-pointer to give Conant a 23-20 at the half.

"I struggled early," Sotos said. "But my teammates kept telling me to stay with it and I finally got my chance to contribute."

Conant led 33-31 late in the third quarter when the Cougars made their move.

Ignited by a driving basket by Kyle Bradley, who finished with 12 points, Conant scored 7 unanswered points.

The Cougars jumped to a 40-31 lead with 1:19 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Brandon Vinson (7 points).

"We just tried to get our shooters open," Bradley said. "When we did, we were able to take advantage of that and hit some shots."

Conant extended its lead to 44-33 with 3:22 and the Cougars appeared to be in command.

But Barrington, which had not lost since January and won the MSL title, showed why it was the top seed in the sectional.

With a full-court press forcing 3 consecutive turnovers, the Broncos were able to cut the lead to 44-41 with 1:26 to play on a 3-pointer by Tristen Becker.

But it was Hughes who changed the momentum.

After a missed free throw, Hughes fought his way inside and grabbed the offensive rebound. He was fouled on the play and converted the first free throw, but missed the second.

Taking a page from Hughes, Bradley grabbed the offensive rebound and he was then fouled.

He also made just one free throw but the damage was done as Conant led 46-41 with 1:21 left.

Jimmy Sotos then converted 5-of-6 free throws to put the game away and finish with 14 points.

"We learned as the game went on," McCormack said. "With a young team like this, surviving something like this will be invaluable down the road."

Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said his defense, which had been a strength for the past 6 weeks, faltered.

"I think our defense had been the key for us," Tucker said. "Our last loss was the last time someone scored over 50 points against us."

Lester led Barrington with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

Ivanauskas had 10 points and 15 rebounds while Will Reinhard came off the bench to score 8 points for the Broncos.

  Conant celebrates its victory over Barrington during the Class 4A regional final at Rolling Meadows on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Conant's Kyle Bradley, right, meets Barrington's Will Reinhard under the basket during the Class 4A regional championship game at Rolling Meadows on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Conant's Jimmy Sotos, left, makes his way past Barrington's Jake Orr during the Class 4A regional championship game at Rolling Meadows on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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.