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Cannella, St. Viator corral Conant

Conant has a lot of height, but it was St. Viator standing tall after their Wednesday night matchup in the Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament.

St. Viator's experience, tenacious defense, quickness and ball movement all paid off as the Lions rallied for a 53-42 win.

True, Viator will still likely need to beat sharpshooting Prospect and defensive-minded Highland Park to clinch the tourney title. But the the Lions' effort Wednesday night against Conant is any indication, they're up for it.

"They've got a great team, but we felt like we could take it to them," St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said after his team challenged Conant's 6-foot-10 Jordan Hughes and 6-foot-6 Chima Oduocha all night. While the pair combined for 14 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, St. Viator never backed off.

With Patrick McNamara and Ricky Muench hitting from the perimeter, it opened things up inside for Sal Cannella (24 points), and the 6-foot-5 senior took advantage. As Viator rallied from an 18-7 deficit, Cannella had four second-quarter buckets on a variety of shots.

"It's a little tough," Cannella said of playing against that kind of height. But he also has a strategy in mind for combatting it.

"I like to run the floor," said Cannella. "I have athleticism."

And collectively, St. Viator showed a great work ethic. The Lions' quickness enabled them to get Hughes and Oduocha in foul trouble. By halftime, St. Viator somehow had a 21-20 lead after facing a 10-0 disadvantage. The bench helped keep the Lions in it, especially the efforts of Kevin Murphy, Danny Walsh, Jake Stepuszek and Kyle Hammarlund.

"Our bench guys did a great job," said Hayes.

They needed to. Conant started off on fire, as Danny Sotos (14 points) hit his first four shots and was nearly perfect from the field and the line in the first half. Younger brother Jimmy Sotos was all over the floor, diving for and saving loose balls, dishing assists and causing turnovers.

But Cannella, McNamara and Co. refused to let St. Viator loose its cool against the big Conant front line. Cannella had five buckets in the fourth quarter, again on a variety of shots, as Viator pulled away.

"We've got to rebound better," even against a team with Conant's height, said Hayes. "We've got to box out. We have a lot to work on."

"We got off to a good start," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "It's a young group. We're getting to know each other."

  Conant's Jordan Hughes, left, gets fouled by St. Viator's Sal Cannella during Wednesday's game in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Conant's Danny Sotos, left, drives for a layup as St. Viator's Sal Cannella tries to block the shot during Wedensday's game in Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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