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Auburn's seniors deny Conant

Rockford Auburn's boys basketball team just had just too much speed and experience, which it used to run past Conant 57-43 in the Class 4A supersectional Tuesday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Auburn (25-6) was making its fourth supersectional appearance in the last six years, and the Knights bowed out in a sectional final against Geneva last season. But this time a strong first half allowed the Knights to advance for a meeting with Curie in Friday's state semifinals. Curie, from the Chicago Public League, held off Notre Dame 65-62.

Conant (23-7) had not fully expected to be in this position at the start of the season with a lineup that started two sophomores and two juniors. But that young team grew up quickly throughout the season.

"When we lost Kyle (Bradley), I didn't think we could get here," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "It was a real step up for all these guys."

McCormack said his young team, which grew up significantly throughout the season, still did not have enough experience to match Auburn, which started five seniors.

"The difference was in the experience level tonight," McCormack said. "The senior domination on their side, and the fact that they had been in this game before."

Conant's youthful exuberance gave way to jitters at the start. Conant turned the ball over 3 times early in the game and Auburn raced to 10-1 advantage.

After trailing 17-5 after the first quarter, Brandon Vinson brought the Cougars faithful some hope. The team's only starting senior, Vinson drilled a pair of 3s in the first minute of the second quarter to close the gap to 17-11.

"It was a big game for us," Vinson said. "And being the only senior, I could not come out tentative."

Auburn and guard Daevion Dixon answered the challenge from Vinson. Dixon nailed a pair of threes to ignite a 13-2 run, and Auburn was on its way.

"We ran into a real hungry team," McCormack said "They were here last year and lost this game. They hit some deep shots early and we struggled with the ball at times."

Auburn used 14 first-half turnovers by Conant to build a 32-16 lead at the break.

But this Conant team learned after losing Bradley, who was an all-area player last year, that no mountain is too high.

And Conant began to play Conant basketball. The Cougars, who struggled to get the ball inside the paint in the first half, began to find 6-foot-8 Ryan Davis and 6-7 Michael Downing down low. With that, the Cougars scored the first 7 points of the second half as they closed to within 32-23 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

"I though we did a nice job in the second half," McCormack said. "We were able to get the ball to our big guys inside. But we couldn't get a stop on the other end. They would miss a shot and get a putback."

And because of Auburn's tenacity on the offensive end, Conant could never get closer than those 9 points. Four times, Conant got the deficit to 9, only to be turned away by an Auburn team that desperately wanted to punch its ticket to Peoria.

"We wished we could have closed it out a little better tonight," McCormack said. "But you have to take your hat off to the team over there. They did a great job."

Dixon, who hit five 3s, led Auburn with 16 points.

Conant was led by Vinson, who had 11 points, which included 3 triples. Ben Schols had 10 points, dropping in a pair of 3s. Jimmy Sotos had 9 points while Davis had 6 points and Downing 5.

McCormack, who will be at the helm for his 31st season next November, already was thinking about the next year. He'll return six players who saw significant time this year, including four starters.

"We will take a little time to talk about what went on during the year," McCormack said. "We will let these guys reminisce a little bit, then it will be time to get back to work."

McCormack returns all-area team captain Sotos and all-area selection Downing, who are both juniors this year. Davis, who was also all-area, and Schols, who was honorable mention, are both sophomores and will also be expected to take on new roles.

Sotos was disappointed by the loss. But he said he and his teammates will use it for motivation for next season.

"Right now, I am I anxious to get back in the gym and be hungry for next year," Sotos said. "We are going to be back.

"This season was a credit to our seniors. But our juniors and our sophomores are going to come back hard next year. They went through what we are going through now and we are going to learn from it."

Hoffman Estates High School did a fabulous job of hosting this game, along with the preceding 3A sectional game at the same site. In that matchup, St. Joseph defeated Ridgewood 52-35 as high school playoff basketball retuned to the Sears Centre for the first time in four years.

Conant's Jimmy Sotos (3) covers his head with his jersey after the clock ran out in a 57-43 supersectional loss to Rockford Auburn on Tuesday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Conant's Jimmy Sotos gets fouled by Auburn's Daevion Dixon (23) while going in for a layup on Tuesday at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Auburn's Daevion Dixon (23) and Conant's Jimmy Sotos run the length of the court together in Tuesday's Class 4A supersectional at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Conant's Ryan Davis (25) comes up with a loose ball before Aubrun's Devon Richardson (14) or Shidyae Evans (21) can grab it during Tuesday's Class 4A supersectional at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Conant's Chima Oduocha (21) tries to get a rebound but is beat out by Auburn's Shidyae Evans (21) during supersectional play at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Conant coach Tom McCormack tries to orchestrate a comeback during Tuesday's Class 4A supersectional against Rockford Auburn. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Looking to capitalize on the luck of the Irish, Conant fans dressed in green, cheer for their team and coach Tom McCormack during supersectional play at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
Auburn's Trayvon Tyler (2) goes up against Conant's Chima Oduocha (21) and Ryan Davis (25) for a layup during Class 4A supersectional play at the Sears Centre. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
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