Schaumburg 59, Conant 49
If good practices make for good games, then Schaumburg's final preparation was a good omen for Friday's Mid-Suburban West boys basketball finale at Conant.
"(Thursday) in practice, we ran our offense 35 minutes and only had 1 turnover," said guard Cully Payne, whose 25 points, 11 in the final quarter, led the Saxons to a 59-49 victory at Perry Gym in Hoffman Estates.
Conant (18-6, 8-2) had clinched the West title and hosts Wednesday's MSL championship against East co-champion Buffalo Grove.
Schaumburg committed just 6 turnovers, won the rebounding battle 27-21 and outshot the Cougars 23-9 from the foul line.
In the fourth quarter, Schaumburg hit 12-of-14 from the line while outscoring Conant 17-6. Conant held a 46-44 edge after Jeff Keegan made 1-of-2 free throws with 4:56 remaining.
Conant made just 3 free throws the rest of the way, while the Saxons (14-9, 6-4) outscored Conant 15-1 to build a 59-47 lead with 31.7 seconds left.
Payne (8-of-8) and Perrish Bell (3-of-4) spent plenty of time at the line, which is exactly what Saxons coach Bob Williams hoped for.
"This is very similar to many games this year," Williams said. "In these situations, a 1-point game, we didn't follow through. I'm very happy we finished the game. We did a better job screening and moving."
Conant coach Tom McCormack thought Payne made a huge difference down the stretch.
"In the fourth quarter, we let their best player take over the game," McCormack said. "They wanted it more for some reason."
Schaumburg led 27-20 at halftime, but Conant's Tim Gilhooly (22 points) caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 13 points, including 4 3-pointers in a row.
Brandon Bolger scored 11 points and Dan Slowik 10 for the Saxons.
Barrington 51, Fremd 44: No matter how hard Fremd tried Friday night it was unable to take control of a tight game against Barrington. The Vikings closed in several times but the Broncos' outside shooting allowed them to walk away with a 51-44 MSL West victory at Fremd.
The Broncos (8-18, 2-8) got 14 points apiece from junior Mack Darrow and sophomore Kyle O'Keefe. O'Keefe, who was called up from the sophomore team last week, had four 3s.
"I've been trying to get to the gym early and work on my 3-point shooting," said O'Keefe. "It's really helped me out and I was able to hit a few tonight."
Darrow had a big night in the paint and led Barrington with 6 rebounds.
"This is a game we gave away earlier in the year," said Darrow. "I'm proud of our team because we did what we were supposed to do and walked away with a win."
Sophomore Christopher Klimek led Fremd (10-14, 5-5) with 13 points and 8 rebounds and junior Dan Bruno added 12 points.
"To hold a team in our league to 44 points is a great defensive effort," said Barrington coach Marty Dello. "It's amazing how much a few wins can do for our level on confidence."
-- Todd Mrowice
Hoffman 51, Palatine 44: Things weren't looking up for Hoffman Estates late in the third quarter against visiting Palatine.
The Pirates were on a roll and Hoffman's two top scorers, juniors Luke Mead and Tom Dombrowski, were on the bench with 3 fouls apiece.
And when 6-foot-9 Palatine senior center Monroe Brooks rebounded his own miss and banked in a short jumper the Hawks, who had led by 9 points in the early going, trailed 33-27.
"It was time to step up our defense," said Mead. "We were giving up too many points inside."
Enter self-described role player Steve Anderson.
The 6-2 Hoffman senior scored a couple of key buckets and played solid 'D' as the Hawks rallied for a 51-44 MSL West victory.
Anderson helped Hoffman draw even after three, then Mead and Dombrowski returned to combine for 11 fourth-quarter points.
"You've got to know your role," said Anderson. "My focus was on going to the basket, getting rebounds, and (on defense) keeping their big guys away from the hole."
Palatine (9-15, 2-8) forward Ronny Lampen, seeing extended minutes due to the injury to 6-9 senior Josh Rustman, scored 10 points.
"It was different playing them without Rustman," said Mead. "He's a big body, and we're a small team."
Hoffman (14-11, 7-3) took the lead for good with five minutes remaining when guard Kemill Long sank a free throw, then a twisting layup moments later.
And when Dombrowski got a bucket and Mead stole the ensuing inbound pass with 1:50 left the game was all but over.
Matt Rossi scored a team-high 14 points for Palatine but was scoreless in the second half. Dombrowski scored 12 and grabbed 8 boards for the Hawks, who rebounded from last week's tough loss at rival Conant.
-- Bill Esbrook
St. Joseph 58, St. Viator 50: It is becoming an all-too familiar scene for St. Viator.
Numerous times throughout the season, the Lions have displayed their athletic prowess, attacking the basket, playing smothering defense and knocking down shots in crucial points.
However, despite the hard-nosed effort the victories seem hard to come by.
In another gritty effort Friday night, Viator led for nearly three quarters but could not stop off a late surge and fell to perennial East Suburban Catholic Conference power St. Joseph 58-50.
"We really came out to play and we had energy from the start, but we let it get away from us in the fourth quarter," said Viator senior Jim Platania.
Platania finished with a team-high 18 points and added 6 rebounds.
"Jimmy (Platania) has been playing great for us ever since he got back from being injured," said Viator coach Joe Majkowski.
With one minute left in the third, junior Bryce Hensley knocked down a 3-point basket to give Viator (9-14, 3-8) a 31-30 advantage, yet the Chargers marched right back down the court and scored.
Viator, sparked by five consecutive points from Platania to open the fourth, would go on a 14-3 run to take a 45-35 lead with less than five minutes left.
Between the exceptional guard play of Diamond Taylor (20 points), and the precise free throw shooting of sophomore guard DeAndre McCamey, who was 12-for-14, St. Joseph (18-6, 10-2) outscored the Lions 23-5 in the final four minutes of play.
-- Dan Hyman
Glenbrook N. 59, Maine W. 50: Maine West entered its Central Suburban North game against Glenbrook North filled with confidence.
The Warriors were on a 3-game winning streak and its confidence was rising.
But Glenbrook North used a 16-1 run that bridged the first and second quarters for a 59-50 win in Des Plaines.
The victory assured Glenbrook North (18-5, 9-1) of at least a share of its seventh straight CSL North title.
Maine West (7-19, 2-8) didn't go away quietly as senior Jimmy Orlowski (15 points) nailed five 3-pointers in the second half, but the Warriors could get no closer than 7 points in the final 16 minutes.
"Winning is a great medicine and it builds a lot of confidence," said Maine West coach Erik McNeill. "That's been the key but tonight we just couldn't get those key positions at the end to narrow the deficit."
Junior Tyler Ponticelli scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half, and sophomore Alex Dragicevich (13 points, 8 rebounds) added 8 points to give the Spartans a 30-20 halftime advantage.
Maine West adjusted defensively in the second half by extending its defense, which left Brian Peel wide open under the basket. The senior converted 18 of his game-high 20 points in the final 16 minutes.
Orlowski credited the post play of junior Tommy Solis (8 points, 7 rebounds) and senior Sargon Yousseff (6 points) for the Warriors' recent turnaround.
"It's the post play," said Orlowski, "You pass it to the post and they make their shots and it gets me open."
-- Michael Eaken
Addison Trail 55, Leyden 38: Addison Trail senior guard Vince Beachem couldn't put it in words in the moments after the final horn sounded.
But one could tell that Friday's 55-38 victory over visiting Leyden in West Suburban Conference Gold action was a big deal to him and the rest of the team.
Heading into this game, the Blazers (5-19, 1-10) had lost 73 straight conference games. Their last WSC Gold win was over the Eagles, 56-47, on Feb. 2, 2002.
"There was something in us that made us play together as a team and get this done," said Beachem, who led all scorers with 16 points. "We wanted to get it done for the seniors. It feels real good. I really can't explain it."
Leyden (4-20, 1-10) was without leading scorer Deron Guyton (18 ppg) for the second straight game. Alex Regalado had 14 points.
-- Brian Pitts