Conant's alone atop West

The Conant boys basketball team spent last Friday night watching Hoffman Estates hand the Cougars first place in the Mid-Suburban West.

On Saturday, Conant (13-4, 5-1) came out intent on proving that they were deserving of the honor.

Spurred on by a dominant first quarter and 26-point halftime lead, the Cougars defeated Barrington 50-32.

"About eight or nine of us were at the Hoffman-Schaumburg game," said Conant senior Tommy Sotos after scoring 18 points. "We weren't necessarily rooting for Schaumburg but we were watching it pretty closely. We came out here tonight and we knew that if we get that win there's no debate."

The Cougars tried to silence Barrington early by jumping out to an 18-0 lead. A layup by Daniel Evers two minutes into the second quarter got the Broncos on the scoreboard but Conant followed with a 12-0 run and led 34-8 at halftime.

The Cougars shot 12-of-18, including 6-of-8 on 3s, while forcing 12 turnovers and holding Barrington to 2-of-10 shooting in the first half.

"We always talk about getting good possessions and make the other team work on defense," Sotos said. "So when they come down on offense, they're tired. So we really pushed it on offense to make them work and guard our shooters. When they came down on offense, we were getting up in the passing lanes and they were having trouble just getting the ball into the lane."

The Broncos (6-13, 1-5) looked like a different team in the third quarter as they put together an 11-0 run and outscored Conant 14-7 in the period. Despite the turnaround, the Cougars still led 41-22 going into the fourth quarter.

"I think we started playing loose and having fun (in the second half)," said Broncos center Mack Darrow after registering 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

"We're at the bottom of the standings, so we should embrace the role of spoiler. But I think everyone's coming out and playing tight."

Chris Hoffman had 8 points and 6 rebounds, Tony Rizzo had 7 points and 3 assists, Jeff Keegan had 4 points, 3 assists and 2 steals and Tim Gilhooly added 7 points for Conant.

Chris Howard had 8 points and Peter Leonard had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks for Barrington.