Mead has Hoffman feeling little pain

A couple of Advil and a couple of on-target shots were a perfect cure for Luke Mead's ailing back.

The Hoffman Estates junior guard limped off the floor just before halftime with back pain in his left side. He limped back out of the locker room just before intermission ended Thursday night.

But Mead didn't miss a beat as he split his career-high 24 points between halves as host Hoffman beat defending Mid-Suburban West boys basketball champion Conant 63-53.

"We knew Luke would come back," said Hoffman senior Casey Terry, who scored 9 points and held Conant scoring leader Tommy Sotos to 2 of his 12-point average. "He's a warrior."

Which allowed Hoffman (7-2, 3-1) to gain the division edge with wins over Conant (6-3, 3-1) and Schaumburg (8-2, 2-1).

"Time goes by so fast," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro. "We've got to savor the spot we're in right now and continue to work."

The Hawks came out fired up with a 14-point run as Mead and Ben Collins (12 points) scored 5 points each and Kevin Lessner added the rest for a 14-2 lead.

But the game took a turn toward Conant in the last minute of the half. Reserve David Trinco hit 2 free throws and on a turnover at midcourt, Mead fell to the court in pain.

Tony Rizzo (9 points) missed a chance for a 3-point play off a drive but Trinco slipped in for the rebound, was fouled and hit a free throw just before halftime.

And a 3 by Rizzo and a layup by Chris Hoffman (13 points) put Conant up 33-32 just 1:03 after halftime.

"We had a lot of momentum going to the locker room and whether or not Mead was down didn't matter to us," Hoffman said after Conant allowed 8 more points than it had in a game this season. "He came back in the second half and did a great job.

"We didn't play on-the-ball defense and put pressure on them."

Mead's third 3-pointer and Collins' reverse baseline drive put the Hawks ahead to stay at 37-33. Conant committed 11 of its 17 turnovers after intermission.

"We knew we had to work hard … and we had to switch the momentum back to us," Terry said.

"We just picked it up defensively," Mead said. "We started working harder and getting after loose balls."

Mead gradually started feeling better and Hoffman broke to a 57-47 lead when Tom Dombrowski, who scored 7 of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, turned a turnover into a layup at 2:51.

Conant made one last run within 57-53 on the third rebound basket by Tom Mahr at 1:14. But Dombrowski and Mead, who hit 7 of his last 8 free throws, combined to make all 6 attempts in the final 44 seconds.

"One of the things I really appreciate about Luke is he'll fight through that," Wandro said of the back issues that also plagued older brothers Bryan and Jason.

"It was a battle of wills," said Conant coach Tom McCormack, "and their will was a little stronger tonight."