Come playoff time, facing a No. 14 seed is usually considered a warm-up game for the more dominant teams. But Rolling Meadows refused to bow to third-seeded Hoffman Estates and held on for a 56-53 victory in the Conant sectional Wednesday night.
D.J. Brown scored a team-high 16 points and Javaughn Stewart contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds to pace Rolling Meadows (12-14), which put together a seven-point lead at half and led 43-31 after three quarters.
But Hoffman Estates decided it wouldn’t roll over so easily.
James Kwak scored 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter and Mike Victor buried a three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to cap a 10-1 run and pull the Hawks (14-12) within 54-53. Rolling Meadows responded with a free throw and called a timeout with eight seconds on the clock before Hoffman Estates could in bound the ball.
“We wanted to look and see what they were doing,” Rolling Meadows coach Dave Brown said. “Either they’d go to Kwak off a screen or pass to [Josh] Stevenson going to the basket.”
Stewart correctly anticipated Hoffman’s attempt to get the ball to the 6-foot-5-inch Stevenson, and was fouled while intercepting the in-bounds pass. Stewart sank one of two free throws for the final tally of the game.
“We had Stevenson surrounded,” Stewart said. “I used my long arms to my advantage. I was thinking a dunk down court, but I was tripped.”
In other Conant sectional games, Rob Tamillo put in 11 points as Craig Anderson and Dan Johnson scored 10 points apiece to give Prospect (15-11) a 61-52 edge over Hersey. Nick Lussow’s 23 points paced Hersey (12-15). . . . Justin Funk paced St. Viator with 15 points and Andy Schaeffer chipped in with 12 to lead the Lions (22-6) to a 54-33 win over Palatine. Jeff Ekeberg scored 13 points to lead Palatine (5-19). . . . Anand Patani scored 16 points to lead Barrington to a 54-45 win over Glenbrook North.
Bradley: Third-ranked Joliet (23-4) held Morris to nine first-half points in a 54-39 win. Roger Powell scored 17 points to go with Terrence Chapman’s 13 and Kellen Easley’s 12 for the Steelmen. Cory Yandell led Morris (13-11) with 15 points. . . . Joe Chapman scored 28 points and Antonio Cool added 20 for No. 19 Bloom (20-7) in a 70-64 win over Joliet Catholic. Mike Kolodziej scored 18 points for the Hilltoppers. . . . Homewood-Flossmoor went on a 14-1 run in the first half to open a 13-0 lead and held off a late charge to beat Crete-Monee 44-39. Adam Dauksas scored 14 points to lead Homewood-Flossmoor (13-12), while Charles Bass had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Crete. The Warriors (11-14) went on a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter with Jerome Burton scoring all the points, but the team couldn’t hit another shot.
Elgin: Ryan Edwards scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half to lead Glenbard West (14-12) to a 63-51 win over Dundee-Crown. Ron Lenior scored 11 points and Dan Doyle and Ben McBurney added 10 points each for West. Adam Russel scored 24 points for Dundee-Crown (12-15). . . . Chamar Sallis scored 15 points to lead Elgin (20-7) to a 60-47 win over Larkin. . . . Jim Eddy scored 14 points and Sean McCurtain and Mark Nomcek scored 12 points each as West Chicago upset Geneva 62-58. Josh Rodgers scored 16 points to lead Geneva. . . . Donte Frazier had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Barlett (18-11) to a 66-59 win over Streamwood. Drew Gronau scored 19 points to lead Streamwood (9-18).
Hinsdale South: Jamaal Thompson scored 22 points and Derik Hollyfield had 15 points and hit all four three-point tries for No. 5 West Aurora (23-3) in a 69-41 rout of Lemont. Jason Reiter had 23 points and a pair of three-pointers to open the game as Lemont (14-11) led 11-6 before West Aurora went on an 11-0 run and pull away. . . . Damon Mason scored 16 points to lead Waubonsie Valley to a 72-42 win over Oswego. . . . Raymond Anthony scored 28 points, 19 in the second half, as East Aurora (15-10) rallied for a 77-70 win over Naperville North. Anthony scored 13 of his points in a 19-2 East Aurora run in the third quarter. Rick Hopkins scored 17 points for the Huskies (8-18).
Leyden: St. Patrick (22-4) rolled past Maine West 72-53 behind David Rivera’s 16 points and Anthony Scala’s 15. Peter Dawlidowicz and Jason Washington each scored 10 points for Maine West (3-23). . . . James Romey scored 23 points to lead New Trier to an 82-47 rout of Fenton. . . . Kris Guzik scored 15 points to lead Notre Dame to a 55-49 win over Leyden. Vito Regalado scored 20 points for Leyden. . . . Rashad McSwine scored 26 points to lead York to a 72-59 win over Holy Cross.
Rockford Guilford: Kevin Flipowitz had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the hosts to a 63-47 win over Woodstock. Tim Lind led the Blue Streaks with 18 points. . . . Travis Woody scored 18 points and Jared Cook added 14 for Machesney Park Harlem (11-16) in a 62-57 win over Prairie Ridge. Matt Bruksch led Prairie Ridge (10-17) with 23 points. . . . Dan Adams scored 12 points to lead Cary-Grove (23-4) to a 79-55 win over Johnsburg (4-22).
Sterling: Matt White scored 28 points for Ottawa in a 57-45 win over Kaneland. Ottawa (16-10) opened the game on a 17-2 run from which Kaneland (12-12) never recovered. Wayne Shaw led Kaneland with 13 points.
Thornwood: Lorenzo Yelder scored 26 points, Mike Hall added 23 points and Mike Smith chipped in with 18 for No. 8 Shepard (22-4) in a 87-58 rout of Oak Lawn. Bill Leithleiter scored 20 points for Oak Lawn. . . . Greg Noha scored 21 points to lead No. 20 Brother Rice to a70-45 win over Tinley Park. John Kimbrough scored 17 points for Tinley Park. . . . Sandburg downed Eisenhower 72-60 as Sean McBride scored 17 points to go with Chris Rega’s 14 and Cory Cummens’ 13. Chris Hobson poured in 30 points for Eisenhower (11-14) in the loss.
Waukegan: John Poletto netted 18 points, including the lone point in the second overtime to give Carmel a 50-49 edge over Libertyville. Joe Baumann finished with 11 points and hit a jumper with two seconds left in the first overtime to extend the game for the Corsairs (13-13). Matt Schaefer tallied 27 points and nine rebounds for Libertyville (13-13). . . . North Chicago coasted to a 70-52 win over Deerfield. Demetrius Terrell led North Chicago (16-10) with 17 points and Devaunn Johnson added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Peter Creig and Ross Hogan scored 11 points each for Deerfield (15-11).
Willowbrook: No. 15 Lyons Township rallied (23-3) from an early deficit to blast Riverside-Brookfield, 68-48. Cortez Forte scored 21 points and A.J. Allodi added 18 including four three-pointers for Lyons.
“I have to give our guys credit for the way they played in the second half,” Lyons coach Conte Stamas said. “They got it going on defense and that sparks our offense.”
Shatone Powers scored 16 points to lead Bulldogs (12-14). . . . Donnie Reynolds scored 14 points and Adesina Benton added 10 as Argo (12-13) pulled off the 46-41 upset of Reavis.
“Two months ago, I bet we’d have lost this game,” Argo coach John Gianotti said. “But we’ve matured a lot. It was nice to beat the conference champs.”
Munther Khamis scored 12 points to lead Reavis. . . . John Cullnan scored 14 points and Jerod Haynes added 10 for Mt. Carmel (15-14) in a 55-52 win over Willowbrook. Tony Battee scored 15 points for Willowbrook. . . . Jason Okrzesik scored 16 points for Fenwick (12-14) as the Friars went on a 13-0 run to end the 61-42 win over St. Laurence.
Class A sectional semifinals
Momence: The hosts blew open a close game with an 11-0 run late in fourth quarter in a to defeat Chicago Christian, 62-54. John Gilbert scored 23 points for Momence (23-6) and Jay Sikma added 18. The Knights (14-17) were led by Rob Voss’ 17 points.
Plano: Jason Kalsow scored 21 points and Pat Kalamatas added 20 to lead Huntley to a 73-56 win over Aurora Christian. Jeremy Henderson poured in 27 points to lead Aurora Christian.
Somonauk: Brad Winterland scored 12 points to lead Stillman Valley to a 44-42 win over Toulon Stark County.
Westmont: Providence-St. Mel (19-11) opened the third quarter on a 23-3 run to blow open a halftime tie in an 85-55 win over Holy Trinity. Stanley Gaines had 19 points and eight rebounds for St. Mel. Damien Bracy had 19 points to lead Holy Trinity (22-7).
