Conant tops Hoffman Estates, aces first-half West test
Conant's boys basketball team has made it through the first round of the Mid-Suburban West unscathed.
The Cougars dispatched neighborhood rival Hoffman Estates 54-38 at Conant's William Perry gymnasium on Saturday.
Veteran Conant coach Tom McCormack knows the second round will not be easy.
"At this point we cannot look past anyone," said McCormack. "All the teams we play all have different styles of play. We have to be ready for that."
The other MSL West teams have more to worry about when they take on the 11-4, 5-0 Cougars.
Mike Downing, a 6-foot 8 junior forward, is begining to make more of an impression for the Cougars. On Saturday night he scored 12 points and pulled down 7 of the Cougars' 30 rebounds against the Hawks.
"Mike has added more of a dimension to our team," said McCormack. "Downing is progressing. His fundamental skills are improving and that goes with his wingspan and his athleticism."
"This was a big game for us," said Downing. "It's a rivalry game. Our game plan was to keep them off the boards and to not let them get second-chance baskets. I think we did that pretty well. We have to leave everything on the floor the rest of the way. We just want to keep getting better and keep the chemistry going."
The rebounding was key as Hoffman Estates recorded just 7 rebounds and shot 14 of 52. The Cougars connected on 22 of 32.
"We've been struggling to score in our last four games," said Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule. "We were hoping to work the ball inside more but we ended up shooting from the outside. When you do that, you lose by 16 points. I thought we executed and had good looks but the shots didn't fall for us."
The second quarter proved to be the difference for the Cougars.
Despite committing 6 of their 20 turnovers, the Cougars outscored the Hawks 12-2 in the second quarter to build a 27-14 lead. Hoffman Estates (7-12, 0-5) shot 1-for-11 in the second quarter.
Downing scored 6 points in the third quarter and Ryan Davis, who finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, had 4 points in the period.
Hoffman Estates outscored Conant 16-13 in the third quarter to pull to 40-30.
After a basket by Brandon Hall (13 points) pulled the Hawks to within 40-32, Conant's Jimmy Sotos (17 points) sparked a 7-0 run with a basket and 2 free throws. Dan Ranallo's 3 was also a part of the run, which gave Conant a 47-32 lead with 4:49 left.
"We know we have a target on our back," said Sotos. "We have to stay hungry. With Mike and Ryan rebounding, that is a big part of our game. We push them in practice to work on the boards.
"We've been looking forward to this game since summer. We all know each other. It's a friendly rivalry. When we get on the court we've very competitive."