Conant knocks off Fremd

Essential road gear: defense.

In the Mid-Suburban League, where it's tough to win on the road, it's a necessity. And Conant is the standard-bearer when it comes to packing up the "D" for travel.

The Cougars brought their "D" Thursday night to Fremd, limited the Vikings to 9-of-31 from the floor, just 3 second-half field goals and not a whole lot of good looks at the basket in a 48-38 MSL West road victory.

"That's one thing (defense) we always have to bring. It's a habit," said 6-foot-5 Cougar (5-1, 2-0) guard Tony Rizzo, who helped force 18 turnovers while helping run its offense more effectively with only 8 turnovers.

More importantly, with Fremd applying the defensive pressure that kept Conant without a fourth-quarter field goal, the Cougars knocked down 13-of-18 free throws, including 8-of-10 by Rizzo.

"In the second half, we got away from our post touches," which in part threw the offense out of synch, said Rizzo. Plus, "(Fremd) really came out hard in the second half."

After Rizzo and Tim Gilhooly (21 points) shot Conant into a 29-20 halftime lead, Fremd, as has been its habit against what has been a brutal schedule so far, rallied late, this time behind 6-4 junior forward Chris Klimek (23 points).

"He really stepped up for us, defensively too," said Fremd (0-6, 0-2) coach Bob Widlowski of Klimek's best game so far this season. He also paced the Vikings to a 25-17 rebounding advantage.

But the Cougars never really lost their cool at either end of the floor. Defensive stopper David Trinco had a couple of huge steals down the stretch and Rizzo, Gilhooly and Cameron Leavitt kept hitting their free throws. Fremd got within 4 points twice, but Conant had the answers, on defense or at the free throw line.

And while Klimek was hurting them, they were very aware of senior point guard Dan Bruno, Fremd's emotional leader. He only had 1 field goal and 7 points.

"Cam (Leavitt) did a great job guarding Bruno," said Rizzo, whose lengthy reach helps Conant switch defenses effortlessly from man, to half-court trap to matchup zone.

Now, said McCormack, "We'd like to get a little more balanced on offense," but, "We're happy to get out of a road game with a win."

Must have been the efficient packing.