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Johnson, Stevenson finish off Maine South

Matt Johnson wasn't having one of his best games as he dealt with foul trouble on Tuesday in the Proviso West boys basketball tournament.

But when the rest of the Stevenson roster need to count on Johnson, he came through with his only field goal of the game.

It was a 3-pointer, and it proved to be the game-winning basket.

"My coaches were the ones to settle me down," Johnson said. "I was trying to keep my head level. I was due for one, since I'd missed a few other shots. We're all close friends and part of a friendship. I trust them - and they trust back. Hitting the 3 did help."

So did having the confidence to play from behind, along with a belief that Stevenson would ultimately prevail.

The Patriots needed a full 32 minutes to get past a very competitive Maine South team 60-51 in the tournament quarterfinals. Jalen Brunson led the way with a game-high 29 points and Connor Cashaw added 12 points, 6 steals and 6 rebounds.

"Maine South was pretty tough, and they were taking it to us for most of the game," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said. "We were a little lethargic, with a late game (Monday, an opening-round victory over New Trier).

"Once we got a faster rate, got turnovers in the middle and got layups, we were better. We just needed to play with more energy and passion (in the second half).The win showed us that were a great team, but the struggles showed that we have to be sharper all the time."

Top-seeded Stevenson (9-0) next meets No. 4 seed Kenwood (9-2) at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The Broncos rolled past No. 12 seed Proviso East 75-55 to advance.

Johnson (7 points) was bothered by foul trouble the entire game. He hit his big 3 with 2:43 left to break a 51-51 tie.

The Patriots added 6 more points after it via a pair free throws from Brunson and Johnson, and Parker Nichols canned a short jumper for the final 9-point margin.

On balance, Maine South coach Tony Lavorato was pleased to be so competitive against Stevenson.

"When you have two good teams like that . . . they hit a three, and then we missed a one-and-one," he said. "I'm not really worried about the last three minutes. We got what we wanted out of the first 29. I'm not happy that we lost. But it's December. Now we have to continue to grow. If it was March, then were done."

Maine South (9-2) had jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first few minutes and led 16-13 after the first quarter.

Stevenson went on a 11-2 run to start the second quarter as Brunson capped the spurt with one of his five 3s for a 24-18 lead with 4:46 left.

Maine South responded with a 13-3 run of its own to lead 31-27 at the break after shooting 59 percent.

In the third quarter, Cashaw applied some pressure and forced a few quick steals. Stevenson scored 10 straight points and outscored Maine South 16-6 for a 43-37 lead entering the final quarter.

"At halftime, we got together as leaders in a group," Cashaw said. "We fought through their adversity really strong and brought out a lot of energy. We wanted to carry that out the rest of the game."

The Hawks once again answered in the fourth quarter behind a couple of 3s from Caleb deMarigny (12 points), who tied it at 51-51 with four minutes left.

Maine South was led by Jon Arenas with 14 points, George Sargeant with 13 and Davis Neilands with 12.

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