Conant finishes off Brother Rice

Things did not start out well for Conant at the 35th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York on Friday night.

The Cougars connected on only 1 of 12 shots in the first quarter and found themselves trailing Brother Rice 7-2.

Conant righted itself with defense and strong play from their reserves in a 59-30 pounding of the Crusaders (1-7).

Junior Garrett Gatz was one of the key reserves off the bench for Conant.

After Cameron Leavitt (11 points) hit for back-to-back baskets to give the Cougars (7-2) a 11-7 lead with 4:09 left in the first half, Gatz fired in consecutive 3-point baskets to widen the lead to 17-11.

"With our rotation of players," said Conant coach Tom McCormack, "we play 8 to 10 players. Gatz fullfilled his game off the bench. Once we began hitting some 3's, that opened up the offense. Tonight the guys off the bench raised our level of instensity.

"Even though we didn't shoot well in the first quarter we still had good looks. With the way we play defense it was just a matter of time that we wold make things happen in our favor."

Tim Gilhooly (11 points) fired in a 3 to end of the half and give the Cougars a 22-14 lead.

Conant then put away the Crusaders with an 18-9 advantage in third-quarter scoring for a 40-23 lead.

"Bench play is important all around," said Gatz who finished with 9 points, two steals and 3 rebounds. "Guys come off the bench with fresh legs. When I saw that we hadn't scored much in the first quarter, when coach called on me I was ready. I just said to myself to play defense first, and the offense will come around. My role is to contribute."

Taylor Peterson had 11 points for the Cougars and the bench combined to score 18 points.

Dan Walsh led Brother Rice with 12 points.

The Cougars, who won the Tosh in 2006 and finished second last season, next faces York or Downers Grove South at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.