Conant hangs on for win over Libertyville
Ready. Fire. Aim.
That's sort of what it felt like for three quarters Saturday afternoon as the Libertyville and Conant boys basketball teams squared off in their Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving Tournament finale at St. Viator.
The two teams combined for 17-of-54 shooting from the field through three quarters, 3-of-18 from 3-point territory, although much of it was due to in-your-face defense by both.
By the time they heated up in the fourth quarter, especially Libertyville, it was just too late as Conant's game-long lead held up to Libertyville's 3-point barrage for a 44-39 Cougar win.
"If you would've told me we would come out of here with a 2-2 record, I'd have taken it," said Conant coach Jim Maley, just outside the gym where unbeaten Evanston and unbeaten host Viator were squaring off in the tourney finale, testimony to the level of competition in this tournament.
Maley's young team is learning to play together and they seemed to learn well as the game progressed, limiting Libertyville to 16 points through three quarters and taking a 12-point lead into the final frame on the shooting of center Rajat Mittal (21 points), to whom they kept throwing the ball inside.
Mittal believes he saw the difference in the game as, "Our defense totally transferred into offense," as Libertyville misses and turnovers became just enough baskets for a 28-16 lead after three.
He got support from forward Anthony Wachal, who had a key driving hoop and free throw in the final quarter, and backup center Jonathan Kolev, who scored all 5 of his points in the fourth, 2 on a nice feed from Dominic Benigni, who keyed Conant's 3-2 zone pressure from his position out top.
Libertyville finally started finding the range in the fourth quarter, as Brian Wilterdink (15 points) turned steals into points and Dominic Quigley (2), hardworking Jackson Watson and center Travis Clark all nailed 3-pointers, along with team leader Jason Steinhaus.
Wildcat coach Bryan Zyrowski knows his team, especially the spirited Steinhaus, will shoot better.
"We didn't shoot particularly well," he said. "Give Conant credit. And Josh Steinhaus holds himself to a higher standard," so he knows his team leader will forge better performances.
Yet, somehow, the Wildcats reduced it to a one-possession game after trailing by double-digits until Mittal's free throws finally iced it with 3.6 seconds left.
"We have to maximize out potential," Mittal said of playing more efficiently, knowing the effort was there. "I feel we have a great group of guys, guys who are willing to work hard."
"We made the plays we needed to down the stretch," Maley said of free throws delivered by Mittal, Wachal and Kolev and defensive efforts that forced a Libertyville team just heating up into some tough looks that had to be forced.
Still, "There's a lot we can do to improve," Maley said.