Leavitt points Conant to victory
What frequently makes or breaks a team is how the point guard performs down the stretch of the basketball game. And point guards often make the difference when state tournament play comes around.
Friday night at Conant, it was Cameron Leavitt's night to show just how much of an impact a point guard can have. The 6-foot-2 senior hit 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch and scored 13 points to help hold off Fremd 55-53 in the Mid-Suburban West.
The win for the Cougars (13-5, 5-2) coupled with Schaumburgs loss to Palatine left Conant and Hoffman Estates tied for the top spot.
"Cameron's a senior and he has been through situations like this," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "At the end of the game you want the ball in the point guard's hands. You want a guy like him to relish being at the free throw line."
Fremd, which had two brief leads in the contest, closed to within 43-40 with 3:47 left in the game on a basket from Chris Klimek (22 points, 9 rebounds).
Leavitt hit his next 4 free throws to build a 47-41 lead with 2:11 left in the game. He hit 2 more tosses with 8.8 seconds left for 54-48 lead before hitting 1 of 2 and a 55-50 lead with 5.2 left.
Klimek connected on a 3-pointer for the Vikings (8-10, 4-3) as time expired.
"I wanted to be at the line late in the game," said Leavitt. "I had the confidence to do the job. We knew that Fremd was on a roll and we all had to do our jobs.
"We can't look ahead. We've seen what happens when you do."
Tim Gilhooly led the Cougars with 14 points. Eric Madeck hit for 3 3s, including his shot that gave Conant the lead for good at 39-38 with 5:34 left.
"We knew that we would have a battle with Fremd," said McCormack. "This win gives us a better position than what we were in a few weeks ago."
"We had some shots rattle out for us near the end," said Vikings coach Bob Widlowski. "We fell behind early (20-8) but then we recovered and settled in. We brought a good effort to the game tonight. Some of their other players hit some big shots."
Daniel Bruno backed up Klimek's effort with 16 points and 6 rebounds.