Hoffman Estates KOs Zion-Benton
Hoffman Estates kept the week of improbable outcomes alive.
One night after Schaumburg's stunning upset of Fremd, No. 11 Hoffman turned in a similar effort against sixth-seeded Zion-Benton, eliminating the Zee-Bees 55-46 in the Schaumburg boys basketball regional semifinal.
The Hawks (15-12) will face MSL West rival Schaumburg Friday at 7:30 p.m. for the regional title and a trip to the Waukegan sectional next week.
"They made up their minds that they wanted to play Friday against their friends from Schaumburg," Hoffman coach Bill Wandro said.
"We came ready to play," said Lance Vesper (career-best 20 points, plus 8 rebounds). "After we heard the Fremd-Schaumburg score, it pumped us up. We lost both games in the conference, but this is bigger than any conference game."
"I'm excited," said Kelvin Tiongson (18 points, including 12 of 12 from the line). "It's a perfect matchup against our rival."
Hoffman trailed from the 2:38 mark of the first quarter until Tiongson hit a pair of free throws with 2:09 remaining, putting the Hawks ahead 43-42. Tiongson (8 of 8), Brandon Fischer (4 of 6) and Vesper (5 of 5) made their pressure-packed free throws in the fourth quarter, outscoring Zion-Benton 22-6.
"I've hit some big free throws, like the Conant game," Tiongson said. "It all comes naturally. I have so much confidence, I know Im going to make it."
The Zee-Bees Ohio State-bound Lenzelle Smith (game-high 26 points) scored all of his team's points in the fourth quarter, but a rash of turnovers limited Zion's scoring opportunities. Zion (20-11) was just 3 of 6 from the field and didn't get to the foul line in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks iced the game with 8.8 seconds remaining when Vesper was intentionally fouled by Smith, whose displeasure with the call netted him a technical.
Vesper made his free throws for the personal and Tiongson his for the technical, giving Hoffman a 54-46 lead.
The second half was almost a reverse of the first. Despite committing 13 turnovers Hoffman trailed by just 6 points, 24-18, at halftime. Hoffman was guilty of just 2 turnovers after intermission, while Z-B committed 10 second-half miscues.
"Our guys made them move (on defense), and that helped make them tired," Wandro said. "And our big guys did a good job rebounding. We got some 50-50 balls."
Zion-Benton led by 10, 22-12, late in the first half and again in the third quarter, 32-22, before Hoffman started to chip away at the deficit. Hoffman started the fourth quarter trailing 40-33, and after Smith's basket at the 7:35 mark, Hoffman scored 12 unanswered points over the next 5:30, including a 3-point basket by Tiongson and a 3-point play by Vesper.
"You've got to give our guys credit," Wandro said. "No matter how far down they are, they fight back. Our kids eliminated the what-ifs in the second half and became a lot more aggressive on offense."