Tuesday's Cook County roundup
A big start and a big finish propelled Hersey's boys basketball team to a 54-43 victory over Morton in Tuesday night's second round of the York Thanksgiving Tournament in Elmhurst.
Hersey (2-0) led 24-17 after a quarter but had to rally after falling behind 38-36 after three quarters. Kyle Miklasz (17 points, three 3-pointers), Connor Miklasz (12 points, three 3s) and Brian Fabrizius (10 points) all connected from behind the 3-point arc in the 18-5 fourth quarter.
"Brian did a nice job defensively and we hit a couple of big 3s," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "They took contested shots in the fourth quarter and we got the rebounds."
Vuk Vukovic scored 7 points and Tom Sutrinaitis added 6 points for the Huskies, who play York at 8 p.m. today and finish with Neuqua Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday.
"We have stuff to work on but it's helpful that the kids see what's working and what isn't," Messer said. "The next two games are progressively tougher opponents."
Conant 74, Marine Military 29: Garrett Gatz scored a game-high 16 points and hit four 3-pointers as Tom McCormack got his 400th victory at Conant in its season opener in the St. Viator tournament.
Taylor Peterson added 13 points and Andrew Spangler chipped in 12 points and 2 of the Cougars' nine 3s. They led 26-6 after a quarter and 51-14 at halftime.
McCormack has a 400-262 record at Conant as he started his 25th season there. He is 423-267 overall.
Maine West 56, Northside Prep 43: Senior forward Alex Samuelson scored a team-high 15 points as the Warriors improved to 2-0 with their second win in as many days in the tournament they are hosting.
Juniors Paul Solka and Odera Eneogwe both added 12 points for Maine West, which next faces Maine South on Friday. The Hawks trounced Sullivan 94-16 on Tuesday.
Wheaton Acad. 64, Leyden 50: Brandon Stinson scored 12 points and Mike Woolf added 10 as Leyden lost its season opener to the hosts in the Wheaton Academy tournament. Luke Johnson scored 18 and Tim Rusthoven had 15 points and 3 blocks for the winners.