Prospect toughs out win over Conant

Prospect's Charlie Gilmer found out it is the little things that can make all difference.

After missing his first two three-point attempts Tuesday in Mt. Prospect, Gilmer got a piece of advice from coach Brad Rathe.

"I always prided myself on my shooting," Gilmer said. "Coach told me I was a little off and I made a small adjustment and they started falling."

After that adjustment, Gilmer ended up knocking down a quartet of three-pointers for the game to finish with 16 points to help lead the Knights past Conant 48-35 in a MSL crossover game.

"I told Charlie that the ball was coming off his hand high," Rathe said. "It had too much arc. He made the adjustment and 'Bam!'"

Prospect (9-8) was coming off a thrilling one-point win over Hersey on Friday. Rathe was hoping that his team would not have a letdown. Instead, the Knights came out charged up.

"We played hard," Rathe said. "It was an emotional win on Friday. I was impressed on how we played. We didn't take many plays off tonight. That is a big thing against a team like Conant."

Prospect's half-court defense and the play of Cole Chapman (6 points, 9 rebounds) stymied Conant for the majority of the first half. The Knights were able to keep the Cougars on the perimeter, cutting off the passing lanes.

"I'm just trying to hustle and beat every guy to the ball," said Chapman, who had five points and five rebounds in the first quarter.

"They were big. But I was trying to do my best."

Thanks to steals and then subsequent free throws by Nolan Murray and Gilmer, Prospect claimed a 14-6 advantage early in the second quarter.

Conant (8-7) used a long three-pointer by Jake Parpet to help soften up the Prospect defense. That enabled Cam Lathos to use his 6-foot-6 size to get inside for a pair of baskets.

Austin Potonic then hit a long three behind a nice screen just before the end of the half to help the Cougars trail the Knights 23-22 at the half.

Gilmer's shooting eye gave Prospect the opportunity to extend their lead in the second half. Gilmer, who averages seven points per game, dropped a pair of threes, a basket and two free throws as the Knights opened up a 39-31 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Conant pulled to 39-35 with 5:45 left on a rebound basket by Bradley Biedke. But Prospect would hold Conant scoreless from there.

"All the credit goes to Prospect," Conant coach Matt Walsh said. "They executed better and I thought they played real well. We will get back at it tomorrow and our goal is to get better every day."

Biedke led Conant with 14 points while Lathos had eight points and Yusuf Cisse six points.

Ben Schneider added nine points for Prospect while Drew Terpins came off the bench to score seven points.