Seniors, free throws lift Hawks
Hoffman Estates took over sole possession of the Mid-Suburban West boys basketball standings Friday, thanks to its seniors and a near-perfect performance at the foul line.
Three Hoffman seniors, Luke Mead, Kemill Long and Chris Hall combined for 45 points in the Hawks' 51-43 win at Conant's Perry Gymnasium. Fremd's 62-52 win over Schaumburg dropped the Saxons into second place behind Hoffman in the West.
Hoffman (13-1, 4-0), which hosts Schaumburg next Thursday, took a 31-27 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched it to 37-27 when Lance Vesper made its only basket of the quarter, sandwiched between 4 free throws by Mead (22 points).
Hoffman cashed in on 18-of-20 from the line in the fourth quarter, 10-of-10 by Mead and 8-of-10 by Long (13 points).
Hall scored 6 of his 10 points in the third quarter, when Hoffman erased an 18-17 halftime deficit by outscoring the Cougars (10-4, 2-2) 14-7 in the quarter. Hall was effective under the basket and was the recipient of assists from Mead.
"We've been playing together so long, we can read each other," Hall said.
Despite his offensive output, Mead and the rest of his teammates knew defense would be a critical factor against Conant.
"Conant is always No. 1 in the area on defense, so having 51 against them is pretty good," Mead said. "If they score, it's hard to come back on them, because they play such good defense. They have guys who, when they get hot, are unstoppable."
Conant's Tony Rizzo was that player. In the fourth quarter, the 6-5 guard scored 12 of his team-high 20 points, including three 3-pointers, one of which went in off the glass from the top of the key. He even scored a 4-point play when he was fouled while draining a 3 in the first half.
Rizzo's outburst and Cameron Leavitt's 4 points helped Conant chip away at the Hoffman lead, but the Cougars never got closer than 49-43 with just 5.2 seconds remaining.
"We were never comfortable 'till the last possession," Hoffman coach Bill Wandro said. "(Conant) never quits, and they didn't tonight.
"Rizzo's ability to score tonight was uncanny," Wandro said.
"Give Hoffman credit for playing tough, but on the flip side, we felt like we didn't give ourselves a chance, with all of the good looks we had," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "We had so many good looks underneath that we couldn't convert, and most were semi-contested. Good teams convert semi-contested shots."
One stretch where neither team converted came in the final 4:29 of the second quarter, when Garrett Gatz' 3-pointer gave Conant the 18-17 lead it took into the locker room at halftime. The next points weren't scored until 1:12 into the third quarter when Hall scored underneath.
"Tonight was a big one to let get away from us," McCormack said.