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Strong field assembled for Lake Zurich sectional

There's sure to be some exciting boys basketball in this year's Class 4A Lake Zurich sectional.

Mid-Suburban League champion Fremd (25-0) is seeded No. 2 behind state power Stevenson, while St. Viator is No. 5.

The sectional also features a surging Lake Forest team and a skilled group from Zion-Benton.

St. Viator advanced to the Sweet 16 just one year ago.

Schaumburg was the last MSL team to advance to the Sweet 16 in 2012.

St. Viator and Schaumburg were also the last area teams to win a sectional, in 2010.

Fremd and St. Viator look to be the area's best hopes this season.

But both would need to navigate through the state's toughest sectional at Lake Zurich, which features five teams ranked in the top 10 in the state.

"Ever Since the Christmas tournament, people have been gunning for us," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "We are going to get our best game from everyone we play and we have to be ready for it."

Fremd, which won the MSL title last Wednesday, will play at the Hersey regional.

The Vikings, who are led by Riley Glassmann, Matt Ochoa and Ben Carlson, begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of No. 15 Hersey and No. 20 Wheeling, who play on Monday. Those two team split their regular-season games.

Prospect, which lost to Fremd in the MSL title game, could have another opportunity against the Vikings at the Hersey regional.

But the Knights, seeded 10th, would need to beat No. 23 Round Lake on Monday and No. 7 Lake Zurich on Wednesday to have an opportunity.

"It is a very tough sectional," said Prospect coach John Camardella, whose team won the MSL East. "Everyone in our locker room wants that matchup again. We just need to take care of business before that."

St. Viator (20-5), which has been a regional champ in three of the last five years, will play in the Rolling Meadows regional on Wednesday.

The Lions, averaging nearly 71 points per game, are led by Ore Arogundade, Roosevelt Smart, Patrick McNamara and Mark Falotico.

St. Viator could have an intriguing matchup should No. 12 Palatine advance past No. 21 Grayslake North.

Smart transferred from Palatine over the summer last year.

"You can see the difference in our play," St. Viator coach Mike Howland said. "Our kids our buying into what we have be asking them to. If they continue to do that, we will do well."

Rolling Meadows, which is hosting the regional and seeded 13th, will play on Monday against No. 20 Waukegan. The winner will play Zion-Benton on Tuesday.

Barrington, seeded 14th, will meet No. 18 Buffalo Grove on Monday in the Libertyville sectional.

Buffalo Grove beat Barrington 62-56 before Christmas. The winner of that game will play Lake Forest on Tuesday.

Conant is seeded No. 5 in the Bartlett sectional.

The Cougars, who were second in the MSL West and are led by Joe Ranallo, D'Angelo McBride and Danny Sotos, will play in the Morton regional. They will meet the winner of Bartlett-Glenbard East on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Hoffman Estates is in the same sectional but playing in the Addison Trail regional.

The Hawks, winners of seven straight and led by Jordan Robinson and Jorden Thornton, are seeded ninth and will face No. 24 Fenton on Monday. If they Hawks advance, they meet No. 8 Lyons on Tuesday.

No. 15 Elk Grove and No. 19 Schaumburg will meet Monday at the Elk Grove regional.

The winner will play No. 2 Proviso East on Tuesday.

Elk Grove beat Schaumburg earlier this year at the York Tournament 63-54.

Leyden is also playing in the Bartlett sectional and will be hosting a regional.

The Eagles, seeded 18th, will play No. 14 Lake Park on Monday. The winner will meet No. 3 Oak Park on Tuesday.

Maine West, led by Matt Acevedo and Antony Dones is seeded ninth the Maine South sectional.

The Warriors, who are hosting the regional, will play Lincoln Park on Tuesday.

If Maine West wins, the Warriors would most likely meet top-seeded Loyola Academy on Friday.

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