Conant goes inside, comes out on top against Hoffman Estates

Conant's boys basketball team went inside late to come out with a victory Wednesday night in the Class 4A sectional semifinals at Fremd.

The Cougars found 6-foot-9 sophomore Ryan Davis and 6-8 junior Michael Downing for key baskets and then nailed nearly all of their free throws down the stretch to pull away from crosstown rival Hoffman Estates 60-47.

Conant (22-6), which lost in the sectional semifinal last year, advances to a sectional final for the first time since 2007. The Cougars, who are the top seed in the Fremd sectional, will meet the winner of Wednesday's game between second-seeded Fremd and third-seeded Lake Zurich at 7 p.m. Friday.

"It was exactly what we expected," said Conant coach Tom McCormack, whose team defeated Hoffman Estates for third time this season. "It was a hard-fought contest and we were not able to get any separation until late in the game. I was really happy the way our guys hung in there."

McCormack credited Hoffman Estates with his own team's difficulties on offense.

"They made it real tough on us out there," McCormack said. "They threw some defense at us. They were pressuring us hard. Jimmy (Sotos) was driving and they were sending another man at him, so he had to find the open guy."

Sotos, who was sporty a long scratch down his right arm, said there was a lot of banging around on the court.

"It was really physical," said Sotos, who led the Cougars with 18 points and had 11 assists. "We knew coming into this game it would be a dogfight. So we just tried to keep our composure throughout the game."

Sotos said the teams' familiarity with one another made it even harder.

"We know these guys real well and we hang out together over the summer," Sotos said. "It was tough. They wanted this one real bad, but we were able to put it away."

Conant led 35-32 heading into the fourth quarter when Sotos, who had been guarded closely by both Terry Davis and Lamont McIntosh, began to distribute the ball inside to his big men.

Davis, who was the recipient of most of those passes, scored 7 of his 14 points early in the final period. His points, along with a 3 from Ben Schols off another dish from Sotos, gave Conant a 45-39 lead with 4:07 to play.

"Last time we played them, we weren't finishing in the paint real well," said Davis, who had 10 rebounds. "We wanted to make sure that wouldn't happen again."

Hoffman Estates (13-18) just wouldn't go away. The Hawks were able to pull within 4 on a pair of free throws by Davis with 3:59 left to make it 45-41.

After a Conant miss on its next possession, Hoffman had a chance to get even closer. But the Hawks turned the ball over on an errant play.

After a putback by Michael Downing, It them became a free throw shooting contest with Conant converting their next 12 shots. Sotos had 6 of those while Brandon Vinson drained 4 and Schols a pair as the Cougars hit 13-of-14 to put the game away.

"We missed some free throws which changed the dynamic of the game for us," Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule said. "And they made nearly all of theirs down the stretch."

Hoffman was able to stay in the game thanks to the play of Jorden Thornton. The senior guard, who was coming off a 36-point performance last Friday in the regional championship game, poured in 26 on Friday hitting 4 triples - including a 65-footer at the end of the first quarter.

Hoffman Estates led to open the game and again early in the second quarter on a 3 by Thornton. But Thornton couldn't find much help offensively, due mostly to the Cougars 1-2-2 defense that kept the Hawks away from the basket.

"Our defense played well again tonight," McCormack said. "And I thought we rebounded very well too."

Conant, which out-rebounded Hoffman 29-12, got balanced scoring from its starters. Besides Sotos and Davis, Schols and Vinson each had 9 points while Downing finished with 8.

"Coach told us we had to finish in the paint," said Downing, who also had 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. "Jimmy did a good job looking for us. He told me to let me create for you and get open, and I will get you the ball. And he did."

McIntosh had 7 points for Hoffman while Brandon Hall and Davis each had 5 points.

Yanule was really pleased with his team's performance in the state playoffs.

"The seniors changed the culture of our program," Yanule said. "And they changed the culture in our school. Our kids expect to be good and expect to compete every night."