Conant reclaims pride in defense

Allowing 48 points in a game would have been considered slightly below average for Conant's boys basketball team before the holidays.

Surrendering 48 points in a pair of halves is something the Cougars want to prove was a major aberration after their rude awakening against Lyons in the opener of York's Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.

"Our confidence kind of got shaken a little bit," said Conant senior guard London Dokubo of the 96-70 loss.

"We were pretty upset about it and we took it pretty hard as a team," said senior forward Brian Wadsworth of Conant's points allowed per game spike from 45 to 50 in just 32 minutes. "We don't want a team to score anything like that and we took it personally."

It showed in Tuesday night's Mid-Suburban League crossover between division leaders when Conant held Prospect to its season-low point total and 19 under its average in a 58-46 victory.

"This was the defense that kind of anchored us," said Dokubo, who is one of the catalysts with his work on the ball.

Conant coach Tom McCormack said turnovers against Lyons' 1-3-1 defense had an effect on the barrage of points allowed. A good sign was only 8 turnovers in the first 30 minutes against Prospect as the MSL West leaders improved to 11-3 overall.

But McCormack had already seen a turn for the better when the Cougars won two of their last three at York.

"We learned from that and I was pretty happy with the way we played," McCormack said. "I thought we got better and that's the important thing. We played great competition and saw different styles of play."

First-place East showdown: Prospect coach John Camardella was also looking at Tuesday's loss as a learning experience.

The Knights (8-5) didn't have to wait long for their next test when they head to Hersey (8-6) at 7:30 p.m. today in a matchup of teams at 3-0 in the MSL East.

And Prospect will try to produce a turnaround similar to the Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic when it won twice to finish fifth after losing to Loyola.

"I feel we're settling into our roles and gelling as a team," said Prospect 6-foot-6 senior Matt Loebbaka.

That's something that is still taking time with junior scoring leader Mike LaTulip (18.2 ppg) as the only returning starter. Loebbaka has provided the inside scoring (11.9) and 6-4 Terry Redding (8.9) has done a little of both. Danny O'Brien has taken the defensive stopper role with Grant DePalma showing he can run the offense and score outside.

Six-9 senior Will Botefuhr has provided solid inside play off the bench. Camardella hopes junior reserve Brad Reibel would be available tonight after missing the Conant game because of a concussion suffered in the final game at Wheeling.

Hersey has won three straight since losing its first two games at the Pekin Holiday Tournament. Guard Connor Miklasz (15.1 ppg) and 6-5 Tom Sutrinaitis (11.3 ppg) are a tough outside-inside duo with Justin Jobski (10.2), Sean Reszotko (9.6) and Trevor Haas providing offensive balance.

On 'Q' for Fremd: Finding scoring threats to help 23-point averager Zach Monaghan was going to be a key for Fremd.

Senior and third-year varsity guard Quinton Brown has taken a big leap in that direction by averaging 15.4 points in his last five games.

"'Q' was getting to the hole at will and that's really helped us," said Fremd senior Jack Konopka during the Elgin Holiday tournament.

"Coach (Bob Widlowski) has really instilled a lot of confidence in me," Brown said at Elgin. "He's given me a lot of freedom to do what I can on the court."

But increased scoring isn't the only thing Brown has tried to add.

"A leadership role," Brown said. "The team has a lot of confidence in what I'm doing and I try to lead them on and off the court."

The 6-4, 265-pound Konopka has also stepped up to average 14.7 points in his last seven games. Seniors Jim Scharfe and Ken Leonard have also done well in roles expanded from a year ago.

And they all had to take on additional responsibility when Monaghan missed four games after a car accident.

"I feel like it's going to help us a lot down the stretch, especially at playoff time," Konopka said. "Zach will score his 20 points, but at the end of the Downers Grove South game (61-58 loss where Monaghan scored 38) he had two guys on him.

"Guys are able to step up now and that will help us down the stretch."

Fighting the good fight: Maine West senior Paul Solka looked as if he had been in a heavyweight fight with a bandage over his right eye during the Wheeling consolation championship game loss to Stevenson.

"His effort was great," Maine West coach Erik McNeill said after Solka had 9 points and 10 rebounds. "We need to make sure we surround that with four other guys consistently."

The Warriors (9-4) will need it tonight when they travel to perennial power Glenbrook North (11-1) for a battle of Central Suburban North unbeatens.

"We came into the tournament on a hot streak but against Lake Park (75-51 loss) we weren't ready to play and we got down on ourselves," said Solka, who is headed to Bradley to play baseball. "Lake Park is good but our heads weren't in it.

"We need to really work harder in practice and our scout team needs to help us out because we're going to be facing some really tough teams."

Barrington honors Duke: Barrington resident Wayne Duke, who was commissioner of the Big Ten Conference and was recently inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, will be recognized before tipoff of the Broncos' 7:30 p.m. home game today against Schaumburg.

Duke was an instrumental figure in the growth of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. He was commissioner of the Big Ten from 1971-89 and of the Big Eight from 1963-71.

Amazing postseason Grace again: Arlington High School's Grace Gym was an integral part of March Madness as a sectional host for more than three decades until the school closed in 1984.

Grace Gym will once again be part of the basketball postseason as Christian Liberty will be hosting Class 1A boys and girls regional tournaments.

Regionals are Feb. 7-11 for 1A girls and Feb. 21-25 for 1A boys.

Sears showdown coming up: One of the most anticipated games of the season will be Jan. 22 to complete the High School Hoops Showdown triple-header at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Undefeated Benet will face Glenbard East at 8:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year's sectional final. Benet won the Proviso West tourney and Glenbard East was second at the powerful State Farm Classic in Bloomington.

Schaumburg will face Lockport at 6:30 p.m. and Marmion meets rival Aurora Central Catholic at 4:30 p.m.