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Conant, Sotos settle into semifinal win

Top-seeded Conant played true to form in Tuesday night's Class 4A boys basketball semifinal.

The host Cougars withstood a first-quarter challenge from No. 19 Rolling Meadows en route to a 60-37 win in their own regional.

Conant (20-6) will host the winner of today's semifinal between Elk Grove and Palatine at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

There were plenty of accolades to pass around in the Cougars' win.

Junior guard Jimmy Sotos scored 23 points and had 5 assists, Mike Downing (9 points) thrilled the crowd with a few slam dunks and Brandon Vinson played a strong floor game with 5 assists.

Sophomore Ben Scholls, playing in only his third game after a lower body injury sidelined him for four weeks, made a strong impact with 12 points on four 3-point baskets.

"When I was injured and sitting on the bench, I watched the games closely," Scholls said. "I would play out in my mind what I would be doing if I were on the floor.

"It kept me mentally in the game. When I came back ready to play myself, I think all the mental worked played to my advantage. I feel like I am just about back to where I was before the injury."

"That says a lot about how a player handles an injury," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "You make the most of it or you let it defeat you. He chose the high road. He made use of his time to be prepared for when he came back. That shows maturity.

"Tonight he made some big baskets as he did in the Mid-Suburban Championship game. The thing with Ben is even before the injury he would hit baskets that would help change the game."

The Mustangs (9-17) were hoping to surprise Conant.

They led 11-10 with three minutes left in the first quarter as John Lothery (9 points) hit for two 3s and Jared Murphy (17 points) chipped in 5 points.

Conant put a stop to Rolling Meadows' bid with a 13-0 run that carried over to the second quarter when the Cougars led 23-11. Sotos scored 9 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter as Conant led at the break 31-20.

The Cougars opened the third quarter with a 9-3 burst to lead 40-23 with 5:28 left in the quarter.

Scholls had a 3-pointer. Sotos converted on a 4-point play and then assisted to Downing for a slam dunk.

"Coach got on me at halftime to show leadership in the third quarter," Sotos said. "It's tournament time and he wanted me to make sure that we all played together and to get everyone involved."

"We had a lot of respect for Rolling Meadows," said McCormack. "We knew they could shoot from the outside and we had to limit any second-chance points. Because we did that we were able to get some fastbreak points. We played well on offense and had quite a few assists."

"We ran into a well-oiled machine," said Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "We were hoping to take away their inside game but when they started hitting from the outside, that opened up the inside.

"I give our players a lot of credit for hanging in there this year. When we started out 0-8 some teams might have folded. In the second half we finished 9-8. I'm proud of these players."

  Conant's Jimmy Sotos, right, drives to the basket against Rolling Meadows defender Ryan Laboda during Tuesday's game in Hoffman Estates. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Conant's Brandon Vinson, middle, makes a move to the basket between Rolling Meadows defenders Jared Murphy, left, and John Lothery during Tuesday's game in Hoffman Estates. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hank Holm, right, of Rolling Meadows looks for a clear path to the basket while being guarded by C.J. Deshazer of Conant during Tuesday's game in Hoffman Estates. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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