Calm, collected Conant wins again

Conant showed great balance in knocking off Hersey 65-43 Tuesday in a Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover game in Hoffman Estates.

The Cougars were able to find scoring and depth as they improved to 7-1 on the season.

"We are still trying to get complete," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "It is still December."

Conant had four players score in double figures. They also showed some depth after leading scorer Jimmy Sotos was forced to the bench in the second quarter with foul trouble. With McCormack going to his bench, Conant was able to extend its lead.

"This time of the year that is a great thing," McCormack said. "We have some young guys. So that was a very positive thing."

But the most positive thing was the way the Cougars shared the ball. Of their 19 baskets, 14 came off assists.

The biggest recipient of those passes was Ben Schols, who led the Cougars with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from outside the arc.

"My teammates found me, it was a good night," said Schols, who missed 6 games last season with an injury. "Everyone does a real good job of playing their role. And when I get an opportunity to shoot the ball from outside the arc, I am going to take it."

Ryan Davis was also a force for the Cougars scoring 16 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and blocking 5 shots.

"I was trying to use my size," the 6-foot-8 Davis said. "They were crashing and trying to block me out, but I tried to spin, get to an open area and find the ball."

Jimmy Sotos had 14 points, well below his 20-point average. But the Bucknell-bound Sotos also had 9 assists.

Michael Downing contributed 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The Cougars also converted 23-of-24 free throws.

Defense that broke the game open late in the first quarter. Leading 9-8, Conant forced Hersey to turn the ball over on 6 consecutive possessions as the Cougars scored 13 unanswered points to lead 22-8 with 6:23 left in the first half.

"Defensively, I thought we made some progress tonight," McCormack said. "In terms of our positioning and communication, we scored a lot of points off our defensive effort."

Hersey (3-3), which was coming off a huge win over conference-rival Prospect last Friday, stayed close thanks to the play of Joey Coffaro, who finished with 16 points.

The Huskies pulled to 38-26 with 5:05 left in the third quarter. Conant then went on 14-5 run with Schols completing the scoring surge by taking a no-look pass from Sotos to make an uncontested layup.

"I liked the way we came out of the gate," Hersey coach Steve Messer said. "I like our shot selection, our spacing. We just aren't prepared yet, at this point of the season, to beat a team like that. Our goal is to be ready to beat a team like that."

Ken Hasley had 7 points for Hersey while Grant Wagner had 6 points.