Ellis' big night leads Hoffman Estates past Conant
The recent Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York High in Elmhurst proved to be a showcase for the impressive Mid-Suburban League junior boys basketball class of 2021 as centers Chris Hodges (Schaumburg) and Julian Campbell (Palatine) joined Rolling Meadows guard Max Christie on the all-tournament team.
However, there could've been a fourth junior honoree from an MSL school named as well.
Conant's 6-foot-5 swingman Devon Ellis just missed the cut with a 23-point, 7-rebound average during his four Tosh games.
Throw in a dominant 20-point, 11-rebound game in the Cougars' 47-40 home win over Hoffman Estates Friday evening and a case can begin to be made that the MSL's Class of '21 may just be a quartet instead.
"I just work every single day. No matter what day it is," a modest Ellis said of his effort that included 4 assists in helping Conant earn its first MSL West victory.
"It feels great to be a part of something big and you never know how good you can be."
Ellis' takeover began after a Sean Beckman putback gave the hosts the lead for good at 27-25 with 5:55 left in the third. He connected on his second 3-pointer at the 5:16 mark followed by a pair of free throws that gave Conant a 32-25 advantage with 2:15 to play in the third. After trading scores left the Cougars ahead 35-27 at quarter's end. Ellis found the basket again on a putback 67 seconds into the final frame to put the Cougars up double-digits at 37-27.
He next set up sophomore guard Daniel Hong (12 points), who drained his fourth trey of the night to complete a 15-2 run that left Conant (3-11, 1-3) with a commanding 40-27 lead with 6:24 to play.
Hoffman (6-8, 0-4) would get no closer than 46-40 on an Adrian Stachura steal, drive and layup with 22 ticks remaining.
"We got off to a rough start," Cougars coach Jim Maley said. "I didn't think we played well in the first half. Earlier in the year I think we would've folded, but we came out and did what we needed to do in the second half."
He also lauded Ellis's evening that saw him score 13 of his game-high in the second half that gave Conant its third win in its last five games after an 0-9 start.
"It was nice to see him in the second half leading (the way)," Maley said. "We kind of get on him to go the offensive glass. I thought he did that a couple of times where he created his own offense. He's starting to create a name for himself."
The 6-3 duo of junior Nahum Smith-Hernandez and senior Nate Fisher paced the Hawks' effort with 10 points each as they dropped their second straight game this week.
"Grit is one of our core values. Never quit. Never giving up if you're fighting," Hoffman coach Luke Yanule said. "It's just when you miss seven free throws (7 of 14) and you miss a lot of open shots. We thought that was the difference in the game."