advertisement

Defense takes center stage at Barrington

The Class 4A Barrington boys basketball sectional figures to be a battle, with coaches who place defense as their top priority.

"We want to play good, solid defense," St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said. "That's what we stress every day in practice."

Despite being in three different conferences, all four teams are quite familiar with each other. Conant has the most recent history with the other 3 teams, playing each of them this year and going 3-1 in the process.

Here's a look at the matchups:

No. 5 seed St. Viator (18-9) vs. No. 9 seed Conant (19-9)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Outlook: This will be a rematch of a game St. Viator won 53-42 back on Nov. 26. St. Viator has played a tough schedule,with eight of its opponents winning regionals. St. Viator is not new to sectional play, winning their fourth consecutive regional title and their fifth in the last six years. But the Lions have not won a sectional game in 6 years. They have turned things around the past two weeks after losing 3 consecutive games near the end of February and are currently on a 3-game winning streak. The Lions are a guard-oriented team and are led by 3-point sharpshooter Pat McNamara, who is averaging over 18 points. Mark Falotico, who has been nursing a sore foot for most of the season, has also been a huge factor when he has been healthy. Kevin Monson, Ricky Muench and Danny Walsh have also made huge contributions for the Lions. The key may be the play of 6-foot-6 all-area forward Sal Cannella, who will be called on to battle Conant's size in the paint. Conant has been playing extremely well of late and have won 4 of its last 5 games. The Cougars are 5-1 against the top four seeds in the sectional. Part of that reason has been the emergence of 6-10 Jordan Hughes, who had a monster game in the regional final against Barrington with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. The Cougars will also look to Danny Sotos, who has been the leader of the team all season to pick up some of the scoring pace. His brother, sophomore point guard Jimmy Sotos, will look to keep the offense flowing with Kyle Bradley, Ryan Davis and Brandon Vinson also important contributors. "It has been a while since we played them," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "Our kids have come into this fired up because they thought we were better than a 9 seed."

No. 2 seed Lake Park (23-6) vs. No. 3 seed Palatine (23-8)

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Outlook: This game has the makings of a shootout, with a pair of teams that like to run. But Lake Park has come up huge defensively all season, with the Lancers holding their opponents to under 45 points in 19 of their games. Lake Park, which won the Wheeling Hardwood Classic, split a pair of games with Fremd this year and lost to Conant. The Lancers are led by DuPage Valley player of the year Marcus McDaniel, who has averaged 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. Lake Park is a senior-dominated squad and does not have a starter over 6-3. Stefan Meccia, Cameron Van Aswegen, Michael Karas and McDaniel are just as comfortable shooting the 3 or driving to the basket. The drought is over for Palatine, which had not advanced to the sectionals since 1996. Palatine may be playing the best basketball of any of the remaining teams in the sectional, having won 12 of its last 14 games. "The kids have really bought into the system," Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. "And they don't care how long it has been since we won a regional. They want to make their own history." The Pirates have three players averaging in double figures, with Chris Macahon (10.8 points, 3.6 assists), Justin Chaney (13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds) and R.J. Smith (12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds). But what makes Palatine even better is that it is not just limited to those three for their scoring. Mike Williams is coming off a 23-point game in the regional championship against Hersey while Ulrich popped in 10 points against Grayslake Central in the regional opener. Jovone Stricker and Scott Elter are also key contributors for the Pirates.

Advancement: The semifinal winners will play at 7 p.m. Friday for the sectional title. The winner of that game meets the winner of the DeKalb sectional next Tuesday in the supersectional game at Northern Illinois University.

- Dick Quagliano

  Palatine senior guard Chris Macahon shoots an uncontested jumper at Fremd during MSL West play this season. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator senior guard Patrick McNamara hits a 3-point shot in front of Lake Forest defenders Lorenzo Edwards, left, and Steven Vogrich. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.