Conant’s valiant bid to upset top-seeded Mid-Suburban West champion Fremd came down to two turnovers in the final 27 seconds Friday night.

The first was Fremd turning the ball over to 6-foot-6 junior Jordan Williams for the go-ahead drive in an intense Larkin Class 4A boys basketball regional title game in Elgin.

The second was 6-5 junior Tommy Moffett’s mid-court interception of an inbound pass and 2 free throws as Fremd escaped with a 47-44 victory over Conant and a relentless 23-point, 13-rebound effort by senior Bradley Biedke.

“Conant played very well and gave a spectacular effort … but we knew we had to stay composed,” said Williams, who had 20 points and 6 rebounds.

“It means a lot,” Moffett said of Fremd’s 19th regional title. “Our senior group wanted to win this one. We’re happy to get it done for them and keep our season going.”

Getting to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. Schaumburg sectional semifinal to face No. 4 Hersey (23-6), a 62-53 winner over Barrington, and former coach Bob Widlowski wasn’t easy for Fremd (26-3).

Conant (15-15), which had lost the two West meetings by 23 and 8 points, trailed 40-33 with 4:01 left. A pair of 3-pointers by Rohan Patel off Saahas Talluri feeds led to a 41-41 tie at 0:56.

“The magical word was belief and that’s what I wrote on the white board,” Conant coach Greg Grana said of a timeout at 3:57.

Moffett, who had 7 of his 8 points in the fourth, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, broke the tie with 2 free throws at 0:34. Just four seconds later, the 6-7 Illinois Wesleyan-bound Biedke barreled in for a driving 3-point play and 44-43 Conant lead.

“I noticed (Williams) was a little off-balance and I knew I had my right hand and took it,” Biedke said. “But we couldn’t relax because they’re No. 1 in the sectional for a reason. They’re an amazing team.”

Now it was Williams’ turn after a timeout as the lefty created some space and drove in for a 45-44 lead at 0:18.

“My job was to stay composed and execute the play well,” Williams said.

“Our coaching staff talked about a good, simple play at the end,” said Fremd coach Mike Brown, “and Jordan Williams made a heck of a play when we really needed it.”

Conant had an inbound under its basket with 6.4 seconds left where Grana used Biedke as a decoy with options of finding Nate Hahn out top or a deep pass to the backcourt. Moffett thwarted the latter with a leaping grab and hit 2 free throws at :03.6.

“I saw everybody was covered and our team played great D,” Moffett said. “When I saw the ball go up I knew I had the height advantage and I knew I was going up for my team.”

Fremd beat Conant on Friday to win a Class 4A regional title.
Marty Maciaszek