Conant meets Highland Park's challenge

The dean of Mid-Suburban League boys basketball coaches, Tom McCormack sometimes says it takes more time to prepare for a smaller, quicker team as opposed to a bigger, more physical team.

"Those teams tend to play both harder and smarter," the 31st-year Conant coach said after his Cougars squad outpaced Highland Park 54-44 on the second night of St. Viator's Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving Tournament. "They tend to benefit from the smallest mistake, making you pay for it."

Highland Park started none in its starting five taller than 6-foot-2 Blake Schwartz. But the Giants rallied from a 15-point late third-quarter deficit to twice pull within 5 in the fourth quarter before the Cougars were finally able to seal the deal on 5 of 6 free throws by Brandon Vinson (13 points) in the final 27 seconds.

McCormack credited Highland Park coach Paul Harris for staying so close.

"You've got to tip your cap to Paul," McCormack said. "He comes in to this tournament every year and his teams are so prepared to play, on both the ends of the floor. He does a great job of getting the most from his team."

That was certainly the case after the Cougars jumped out to an 18-8 lead with 3:32 left in the first half. The Giants (0-2) answered by scoring 7 straight points including 5 from 5-7 senior guard Joey Saslow to get Highland Park within 18-15 at the 2:15 mark. Saslow finished with a game-high 20 points.

An 18-6 Cougars surge into the final 90 ticks of the third quarter gave them the first of two 15-point leads.

Leading the way for Conant was 6-8 sophomore forward Ryan Davis, who had 7 of his team-high 17 points in the spurt, and back-to-back 3s from Vinson in his basketball debut after recently wrapping up his season with Conant's football team.

The Giants charged back into the game with a 13-3 run that put them within 5 at 42-37 on Saslow's fourth 3 of the night with 4:46 to play. The senior forward Zach Fleisher's second 3 got Highland Park within 5 for the final time at 49-44 before Vinson's game-icing foul shots.

"We were able to seal the deal tonight," said Davis, who added 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks on 7-of-10 shooting. "We were able to have our guys in the right position to make plays."

McCormack says Davis is only beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.

"Last season he was establishing himself as a perimeter shooter," McCormack said. "Tonight you saw him work not only inside but showing his ability to make some nice passes. It's really impressive."

Also impresssing both McCormack and Davis was 6-8 junior transfer Mike Downing, who added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field along with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"He's fast and athletic, with the ability to stretch defenses," Davis said.