Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York

The smallest player in the tournament proved to be the biggest obstacle to a repeat title for Conant in the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament.

St. Ignatius senior guard Keith Smith played bigger than 5-foot-6 all over the court at York. The tournament MVP had 13 points and 6 assists to spark a 55-36 championship game victory Saturday night in Elmhurst.

"He was legitimately the MVP," said Conant coach Tom McCormack.

"You never knew where he was going," said 6-foot-4 Conant senior Chris Hoffman of Smith. "He'd dribble one way, look another and then he passes a third way. He's a great player."

And Smith's ability to find those options gave St. Ignatius (12-1) its second York title in three years and prevented Conant (10-4) from its fourth in six years and fifth since 1996.

St. Ignatius, which suffered its only loss by 2 points to Lincoln Park at Thanksgiving, got only 6 points from all-tourney pick Zachary Watkins. But senior Joe Mezyk stepped up with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting and 10 rebounds.

"They were very skilled," McCormack said after the Wolfpack shot 56.4 percent from the field (22-for-39). "We know (Mezyk) is a good player but we thought he was the third option after (Smith and Watkins) and he lit us up."

And Conant went stone-cold after it closed within 23-19 with 5:24 left in the first half on a layup by Hoffman (8 points, 5 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by Tony Rizzo.

All-tourney pick Rizzo scored only 1 more of his 11 points and finished 3-for-10 from the field and all-tourney pick Tommy Sotos shot just 1-for-9 for 2 points against St. Ignatius' physical man-to-man.

"Nothing was clicking tonight," Hoffman said as the Cougars shot 27 percent (12-for-44) from the field and were 2-for-14 on 3-pointers.

"It all starts with our point guard (Smith)," said St. Ignatius coach Rich Kehoe. "If you let (Conant) get in a rhythm you've got some problems. They've got a pretty good half-court offense."

Tim Gilhooly added 8 points as the game gradually slipped away for the Cougars in the second half. But one area did not, which was encouraging with Hersey and Schaumburg up next in January.

"I liked the fact we kind of hung in there the second half," McCormack said after the Cougars' first York title-game loss in five tries.

"I think we also looked at this experience as being a positive," Hoffman said. "We never quit and that's what we liked a lot."

-- Marty Maciaszek

Lyons Twp. 47, Wheaton Warrenville South 44:ŒFirst came one good look for the Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers, then two, then three.

The Wheaton Warrenville South boys basketball team had three decent looks at a game-tying 3-point basket Saturday night yet failed to connect on any in their 47-44 loss to Lyons Twp. at the 34th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

That the Tigers (8-5) were even in position to tie the game speaks to their comeback ability. When Lyons Twp. senior C.J. Esposito buried a pair of free throws with 1:26 remaining, the Tigers were looking at an 8-point deficit.

However, a pair of 3s by Byron Given and Sam Carlson in a 16-second span pulled Wheaton Warrenville South to 41-39, but the Tigers could slice the deficit to no fewer than 2 points.

"It was well-executed by both teams. They didn't miss any free throws, and that made us make plays," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Mike Healy said. "I thought both teams did everything they needed to do in the last 90 seconds to give themselves a chance to win the game. We just kind of ran out of time."

The Lions (13-1) were buoyed by 6-foot-8 senior center Jeff Adams, whose 8 fourth-quarter points helped build Lyons Twp.'s 41-33 lead.

"He executed and we didn't kind of execute what we normally do against post kids," Healy said. "He made us pay. He's a tough matchup."

The Lyons Twp. coaching staff told Adams to incorporate a pump fake with his low-post moves in the fourth quarter, leading to increased success.

"I thought when he (pump faked) he created a little more space for himself, and he kind of gathered himself a little bit by doing that," Lions coach Conte Stamas said. "When he took his time in there and really pump faked and was patient, I think that's when he was more successful."

Given and sophomore Derek Babb combined for all 15 of Wheaton Warrenville South's points in the first quarter before both fell into a shooting slump the rest of the game. Lyons Twp.'s 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones held Babb scoreless the final three quarters and yielded just 5 more points to Given.

"You know what you're going to get with LT," Healy said. "You're going to get zone, and to beat a zone you have to knock down some shots. We kind of went through a stretch where we missed a bunch of 3s.

"I thought we played all right; LT's going to win a ton of basketball games this year."

-- Matthew McClarey

Palatine 54, Downers Grove South 42:ŒWinning 500 boys varsity basketball games is no easy feat.

And reaching that milestone wasn't for Hall of Fame Palatine coach Ed Molitor on Saturday afternoon in York's 34th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

The Pirates saw a 15-point halftime lead evaporate in less than seven minutes in the consolation championship game with Downers Grove South. Another 6-point lead slipped away.

Then they played the last four minutes with the persistence and intelligence Molitor has demanded in his 39-year head coaching career at Marist and Palatine.

And the Pirates (6-8) went on to claim the consolation crown, surpass last year's win total and give Molitor his milestone victory 54-42.

''It felt good but the big thing was getting the third win of the tournament,'' said Palatine senior guard John Castellano after scoring all 10 of his points in a 15-3 finish.

''Coach told us we haven't gotten any hardware in this tournament in 10 years,'' said 6-foot-9 all-tourney pick Josh Rustman of the Pirates' second place finish in 1997. ''He told us that was more important than his 500th win.''

Which wouldn't surprise those who have known Molitor since he started as an assistant coach for Bill Gleason at the old DePaul Academy in 1966.

Molitor, who was a head coach at Marist (1969-76) before coming to Palatine, was given a plaque by the York tournament in a pregame ceremony honoring his career that will end after this season with his retirement.

He was presented with the game ball in a postgame ceremony. Ed Molitor Jr., joked with his dad and former coach that he thought he reached 500 wins long ago.

''I didn't even know and never even thought about it,'' Ed Molitor Sr. said. 'Honestly, I didn't even know until I saw it in the (Saturday) paper.''

The Pirates broke to a 31-16 halftime lead by hitting 11 of 17 shots as Castellano and Gerald Hutton kept finding Rustman (11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) and 6-6 Monroe Brooks inside.

Then Downers South (7-5), which got 15 points from Malcolm Herron and 10 points and 9 rebounds from Bledar Dervishi, sprang a 1-3-1 half-court trap to force 6 turnovers and tie it at 33-33.

''We kind of caved for a second but we got it together,'' Castellano said.

Both teams traded 6-point runs when Castellano was off the mark on a 3-pointer. But he scored off his sixth straight miss to put the Pirates ahead to stay at 41-39 with 3:54 left.

''To me that's the mark of a kid who keeps his head in the game,'' Molitor said of Castellano's 5 rebounds and 6-for-6 free-throw shooting the final 1:04, ''and knows he can help the team in other ways.''

Matt Rossi also ended a 6-shot drought by hitting a 3 off a feed from Matt Wieber (9 points, 5 rebounds). Rustman and Castellano drove the lane for scores to put the Pirates back in control.

''I just wanted these guys to improve as the tournament went on and I thought we did,'' Molitor said.

And got Molitor his milestone in the process.

-- Marty Maciaszek

Brother Rice 62, St. Charles East 57:ŒDespite a valiant second-half comeback, St. Charles East's boys basketball team couldn't quite climb over the proverbial hump.

As a result, the Saints (5-9) dropped their third consecutive game, losing a 62-57 decision to Brother Rice (9-4) in Saturday's seventh-place game at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

Trailing by 14 at 52-38 late in the third quarter, the Saints scored the final 8 points of the period -- including back-to-back 3-point baskets from Marc Stellato -- to pull within 52-46.

After falling behind by 8 early in the fourth quarter, the Saints once again mounted a late charge, as Stellato's three-point play made it 58-57 with 2:46 remaining.

But the Crusaders, who led the entire way, escaped with the victory as the Saints misfired on a potential game-tying 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left.

"If we play like that, we're going to win a ton of games," said Saints coach Brian Clodi. "We held them to 23 second-half points. We won the third and fourth quarters. We won the second half -- it just wasn't enough."

It wasn't enough, partially because of the Crusaders' fast start coupled with the play of senior guard Sean O'Reilly, who tallied 26 of his game-high 31 points over the final 3 quarters.

With 6-foot-6 forward Mike Kennedy scoring 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter, Brother Rice connected on 10 of its first 13 shots while taking a 23-10 lead in the first 6 minutes.

"They hit their first seven shots -- what are you going to do?" said Clodi. "They were red-hot. We told our guys that they're not going to shoot like that the whole game."

And the Crusaders didn't.

After hitting 11 of their first 16 shots, the Crusaders made just 10 of 34 field goal attempts over the final 3 quarters.

Meanwhile, the Saints received another strong performance from 6-foot-6 junior forward/center Kevin Senechalle (15 points, 18 rebounds), who kept his team close by recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards before halftime.

"The last three of four games he's had double-doubles," Clodi said of Senechalle, who was selected to the all-tournament team after totaling 62 points and 38 rebounds over 4 games.

"We told you in all the preseason stuff how good we think he can be. Three games in a row with 17 points -- we just feel like he's that kind of player."

For Senechalle, it was another tough, down-to-the-wire defeat.

"We just want to win now," he said. "We're in all these games. It's not like we're overmatched or anything."

Collin Pryor and Brian Lankton added 6 points apiece for the Saints.

"We ended up a little short but we're so proud of our team," said Clodi. "We talk about our schedule -- this game made us better."

-- Craig Brueske

Willowbrook 48, South Elgin 45: Improving on its No. 8 seed, Willowbrook (9-3) earned fifth place at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York. Milton Colbert led the Warriors with a game-high 24 points plus 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

York 60, Glenbard South 53: Steve Ganser made 13-of-14 free throws and scored 17 points to lead York to 11th place at the Tosh tourney. Roger Coffin scored 15 points and Will Sullivan added 12 for York (8-4). Glenbard South (6-7) was led by Brian Smith with 14 points and Will Hill with 10.