Class 3A Riverside-Brookfield sectional semifinal

No. 7 St. Francis (18-9) vs. No. 3 Crane (14-8)

St. Francis coach Shawn Healy put last Friday's 74-65, "Hoosiers'-style upset" over stunned No. 2 seed St. Joseph up there with the Spartans' 1989 Class A fourth-place run. There's no rest for these heroes. After winning their first regional title since 1999, the Spartans take on a perennial heavy from the Chicago Public League. Coach Anthony Longstreet's Cougars needed overtime to defeat regional host and No. 10-seed Nazareth 51-44, but did it without 6-foot-3 Cincinnati-bound Dion Dixon. His ankle sprained in a 61-49 win over North, Grand should be ready Wednesday. In Dixon's absence 6-5 Aaron Weaver scored 21 points. The height of Dixon, Weaver, 6-7 Josh Fowler and 6-3 Bill Lee is a concern, as is the quickness of guards Tony Curtis and Josh Williams. St. Francis can use another fast start. In front of their home fans Friday, the Spartans led 22-12 after a quarter and 38-25 at the half to blindside St. Joseph. Senior 6-3 forward Brian McMahon led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but this was full-boat execution -- Dave Palash, Ryan Ferguson, Bob Vonderhaar, Jeff Howe, Jack Purdom, and 18-point scorer Dan McCoy ran the offense, hit the boards, made their shots, out-willed their opponent. Crane's length, athleticism and ability to play zone demands similar effort.

-- David Oberhelman