Kemph leads Meadows into MSL East showdown vs. Prospect

Conant and Schaumburg were expected to have the first of a series of big Mid-Suburban West boys basketball showdowns.

And that's how it's worked out as the two-time defending MSL champion Cougars (5-1, 2-0) visit Schaumburg (8-0, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. today.

What wasn't expected was a big rivalry showdown in the MSL East when preseason favorite Prospect (7-1, 2-0) visits Rolling Meadows (5-2, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. today.

Meadows was hit hard by graduation but has won four in a row behind junior Richie Kemph, who is averaging 21.4 points a game after seeing mostly reserve minutes last year.

Kemph became the fourth player in school history to score 40 points in a game with 41 against Wheeling last Thursday. He followed it up with 29 points against Barrington as he shot an eye-popping 27-for-31 from the field in the two games with 10 three-pointers.

"On the first play (against Wheeling) he drove the lane and shot a reverse layup," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "In the summer he scored 40 against Wheaton North and I looked at my assistants and said, 'He's going to go off tonight.

"He's always in the gym and he cares. It was pretty fun to watch for me, but not for Lou (Wheeling coach Wool)."

Katovich said even a 3-pointer Kemph missed against Wheeling rimmed out and he didn't take any bad shots.

"I'm so impressed with him," said Prospect coach John Camardella. "He might be my most improved player that I've seen this year. He's improved at both ends of the floor."

But this will be the biggest test for Meadows as Prospect comes off a scoring 34 points in the final 10 minutes Tuesday to beat Lake Zurich 69-56.

"This team has so many athletic kids and pure basketball players," said Prospect guard Jason Leblebijian, who had a career-high 27 points Tuesday. "Someone can go off on a 7-0 run by themselves and get the momentum our way."

Schaumburg has matched the 8-0 start of its 1998-99 Class AA fourth-place state team and has won 14 of its last 15. That includes a pair of wins over Conant - including 1 there for a 4A regional title.

It's also an interesting challenge as Alabama-bound guard Cully Payne (22.9 ppg) scored 39 points in Saturday's double-overtime win over Francis Howell (Mo.). Conant has allowed only 39 points a game.

Senior Tim Gilhooly leads the Cougars in scoring (16.7 ppg, 16 3s) with versatile Tony Rizzo at 9.7 ppg.

Fitting in: Prospect junior guard Thomas Kelly appears to be getting more comfortable in his reserve role. Kelly had to sit out the first four games because of his transfer from Loyola.

"He just had to get adjusted," said Prospect senior Kevin Reed. "It's different playing at Loyola than in the MSL. He had to get accustomed to our players, too."

Kelly didn't score Tuesday night at Lake Zurich but had 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

"He's starting to feel like he's in the flow and he's doing his best to make up as much ground as he can," said Prospect coach John Camardella. "He's fitting right into the mix."

Tip drills: It's not a typical Saturday night nonconference game when South Elgin and 6-9 Dani Lopez visits Hoffman Estates and Luke Mead and Chris Hall in a battle of unbeatens at 7:30 - Fremd looks for its first win tonight at Barrington. The 0-7 Vikings' opponents have lost only seven games combined - One of the big post-holiday MSL crossovers will be Schaumburg hosting Prospect on Jan. 6.