Quick-starting Conant wins again at York

Conant's quarterfinal agianst the host Dukes at the 35th annual York Tournament was never in doubt.

The Cougars advanced to Monday's championship semifinals against Oswego by defeating the Dukes 54-42 on Saturday.

Conant (8-2) broke out to a 16-0 lead in the game's first 5:54 en route to a 18-2 first-quarter advantage.

"Our guys had to execute against York," said Conant coach Tom McCormack, "We got some stops on them early."

One of the Cougars who executed was Tony Rizzo. He led the Cougars with 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

"I like to get assists," said Rizzo. " We have so many weapons on the floor. Guys work to get open with the screens. We have confidence to find the open man."

"Tony was the lead guard tonight," said McCormack. "He rebounded, found the open man, and caused problems with his defense. He's such an unselfish player."

Tim Gilhooly backed up Rizzo with 13 points and also had 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Taylor Peterson also hit double figures for Conant with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

York, which fell to 3-7, was led by Tom Roth and Will Sullivan with 8 points each.

"I was disappointed in the way we approached the game," said York coach Al Biancalana. "It just seems that we wanted no part of them in the first quarter."