Lyons roars past Conant
Conant poured in 55 points in the second half, but they were still far too few against defending champion Lyons Township as the Cougars fell 96-70 in the opening round of the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament at York on Monday.
That's because the Cougars (8-2) found themselves on the short end of a 23-0 run that spanned nearly eight minutes of the first and second quarters, and when Dylan Bartuch made his second free throw with 4:43 left in the half, Conant was trailing 29-8.
The Lions (8-1) used their trademark trapping defense to create 19 turnovers in the first half alone and raced out to a 48-15 halftime lead and cruised to a 96-70 win.
“We didn't handle their 1-3-1,” Conant coach Tom McCormack said. “We knew it was coming. They forced turnovers and got layups. That 1-3-1 is formidable.”
Lyons had built its lead to 78-30 late in the third quarter, but the Cougars finished with a 9-2 spurt and carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lions 31-16 in the fourth quarter.
“We got a little more aggressive with our style,” McCormack said.
Effective in the second half were Avery Osby, who scored 11 of his 13 points, and London Dokubo, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 after intermission.
Bartuch added 13, and George Pessimisis, 10, for the cougars, who play St. Francis at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the consolation bracket. St. Francis dropped a 40-38 decision to St. Ignatius in the first round.
Lyons' balanced attack was led by Dylan Fiedler with 20. Eric Powers scored 19, Nick Zeisloft 15 (plus 12 rebounds), and Mark Sewall 12.
Conant led briefly in the opening minutes after Dokubo's 3-pointer gave it a 7-6 lead, but the LT trap took over after that.
“Once we got our feet wet, we picked up where we left off against Downers Grove South,” Lyons coach Tom Sloan said. “Once everybody got some confidence, we made good decisions, looked up the floor very well, and got opportunities for some shots.
“We've got six guys in the top seven who are 6-4, 6-5 and 6-6, and that's what makes our defense difficult to deal with,” Sloan said.