Vinson's vigor helps Conant outlast Lake Zurich
Overtime is for seniors. And fortunately for Conant's boys basketball team, it had one on the floor for the extra session.
Brandon Vinson, the Cougars' lone starting senior, made sure it was neither his nor his team's last game Friday. Vinson scored the first 5 points in overtime and Conant was able to pull away from Lake Zurich 59-48 in the Class 4A sectional final at Fremd in Palatine.
Conant (23-6), which has not advanced to the supersectional since 2007, will meet Rockford Auburn on Tuesday at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates in an 8 p.m. tipoff. Auburn defeated St. Charles East 55-48.
Conant became the first Mid-Suburban League team to win a sectional since St. Viator in 2010. And it took Vinson's play in overtime to get Conant its reservation.
"I had a really bad game and I knew I had to step up," said Vinson, who scored 7 of his 9 points in overtime. "It starts defensively for me. I am quick. And once I hit that 3, I knew my team was confident in me."
Conant's Mike Downing won the tip in overtime, and after swinging the ball around the perimeter, Jimmy Sotos found Vinson open. Vinson, who was two steps behind the arc, launched a perfect shot and the Cougards were on their way.
"Brandon came up huge for us," said Sotos, who finished with 7 assists. "That's what seniors do. Play big when we need them."
Vinson wasn't done. On Lake Zurich's ensuing possession, Vinson stripped the ball and drove the lane for an uncontested layup and suddenly Conant led 47-42.
After a pair of free throws by Lake Zurich's Nick Penny closed the gap, Conant went long again.
Ryan "Big Country" Davis, who'd sparked the Cougars in the fourth quarter, drilled his second the-pointer of the evening as Conant went on a 5-0 run to lead 52-44 with 1:47 left in overtime.
"They left me alone out there," said the 6-foot-9 Davis. "And that shot is not out of my range. I hit one earlier, so I shot another one."
Lake Zurich (25-9), which had valiantly rallied earlier in the game to send it to overtime, couldn't put another string of points together this time and was never closer than 7 from there.
"It was a great team effort," said Conant coach Tom McCormack, who joins former Fremd coach Mo Tharp as the only MSL coach to win 5 sectional titles. "Lake Zurich is a tough team to guard. But I thought collectively our guys did a super job."
The pace of the game was slow in the first half as both teams took long possessions. Conant led 16-11 at the break.
Conant continued to control the tempo, and the Cougars' Ben Schols nailed a pair of 3s to open up an 25-13 advantage with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
That's when Lake Zurich began to speed things up.
Led by Ryan Kutsor and 3s from Michael Bens and Nick Meyer, Lake Zurich was able to regain the momentum, pulling to within 27-25 on a basket by Kutsor just before the end of the third quarter.
"It was hard to prepare for their 1-2-2 in just one day, especially with their size," Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. "We were more in rhythm in the second half. I thought about running earlier in game, but I was worried that we would wear out at the end."
Davis stepped into the fray for Conant, scoring off the block and from outside the arc as Conant extended its lead to 39-32 with 3:01 to play.
Lake Zurich still had plenty of energy left - unlike Wednesday, when it ran for most of the game against Fremd and scored just 3 points in the fourth quarter. The Bears mounted another rally, leaning on their seniors and great fan support to get back in the game.
Penny began to bring his team back from the free throw line and outside the arc, getting his team to within 42-40 with 1:07 to play on a 3.
The Bears came back with a huge defensive play, drawing a charge and getting the ball back with under a minute to play. They didn't waste any time as Bens tied the game for the first time since it was 2-2 on a pair of free throws with 38.4 seconds left.
Conant missed a chance to win at the buzzer when Sotos missed a long 3 before overtime went firmly in favor of the Cougars.
Pitcher was pleased with his team's effort and performance all season.
"It was really an exciting feeling to get to the sweet 16," Pitcher said. "We are confident about our future but I am really hurting for our seniors. This is really special group."
McCormack said there is nothing like senior leadership.
"Brandon was not having a great game at all," McCormack said. "But he was huge in overtime. Seniors find a way. That's why you stick with him."
McCormack said the play of Davis was exceptional, especially in the fourth quarter when he scored 3 baskets down low and nailed a 3 from the outside for 10 of his game-high 20 points.
"Ryan showed the whole package tonight," McCormack said, "Inside, outside and rebounding - he was terrific."
Davis also had 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots while Sotos had 16 points and Schols finished with 9.
Penny led Lake Zurich with 18 points while Bens had 13 points, Kutsor 11 and Meyer 5.