Boys basketball: Biedke, Conant persevere for MSL win over Barrington
Conant senior Bradley Biedke’s initial diagnosis was a bit dire after he crashed the boards and then to the court with an injured left ankle early in the third quarter of Friday night’s Mid-Suburban West boys basketball battle with Barrington.
“I thought I broke it,” the 6-foot-7 senior said of telling the athletic trainer the pain was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
But the Cougars refused to break after Biedke limped off and out of sight for nearly 3½ minutes or when Barrington took a 1-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
Biedke hit 2 free throws with 4.4 seconds left after he grabbed an errant pass in the lane to give the Cougars a 62-58 victory at Perry Gymnasium in Hoffman Estates.
“I would rather die for this team,” Biedke said of the option of not returning or finishing with a team-high 17 points. “The red (JV) team shows up every morning for practice at 5:30 and I would die for them. I’ll sacrifice my body for them to experience this type of feeling.”
The collective emphasis was evident for Conant (6-3, 2-1) as senior Nate Hahn had 14 points and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Rohan Patel (10 points) spent most of the night chasing Barrington (4-3, 1-2) junior sharpshooter Oliver Gray, who had to work for his game-high 26 and went 5-for-9 behind the arc.
Senior Saahas Talluri scored 10 and the Cougars got big contributions from senior Andreas Sassaris (6 points), senior Harlum Drake and sophomore Jakub Glowacki as they rebounded from a 70-47 loss at Fremd last Friday.
“We had so many guys who did so many little things,” said Conant coach Greg Grana.
“Today we all came out with intensity,” Hahn said. “All together we decided we have to bring the energy and get every loose ball.”
After Biedke returned from the athletic training room he was also a calming influence for Hahn on the bench. Hahn’s 3 gave Conant a 42-35 lead after three.
“I got a little flustered,” Hahn said. “He had my back and all my teammates supported me.”
Barrington responded for a 44-43 lead with 5:42 left on Adam Baird’s tying 3 and a free throw by Bruce LeBlanc (13 points, 5 rebounds). Hahn’s step-back corner 3 started an 11-2 tear capped by Patel’s steal and drive for a 54-46 lead at 2:58.
“We talk about who to lean on when things aren’t going well,” Grana said, “and that we have to lean on each other.”
Barrington chipped away as Gray hit a 3 from the volleyball line and found Connor Harris for a 3-point play to cut Conant’s lead to 60-58 at 0:32.
Biedke missed 2 free throws seven seconds later but made up for it when he was fouled again after Barrington couldn’t get a shot out of a timeout at 0:17.
“There was no way I was going to miss,” Biedke said.
Not the big free throws or finish by his team.