More Top Picks Makeup Mirrors
player ready...The No. 1 seed in the Class 4A East Aurora Sectional doesn’t mean much to West Suburban Silver champion Lyons.
“We have not talked about it all,” Lyons coach Tom Sloan said. “It’s a compliment to our guys. It’s a little bit of a reward, but we still had to play Proviso West at Proviso West.”
Lyons opened the playoffs Wednesday night with a third meeting of the season against conference rival Proviso West. The Panthers hung close before Lyons pulled away in the last four minutes by making its foul shots. Lyons hit 12 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter to outlast 15th-seeded Proviso West 55-48 in the regional semifinals.
Lyons registered its 11th win in 12 games by limiting the Panthers (12-14) to two baskets in the last 3 1/2 minutes.
Lyons (23-5) will play eighth-seeded Metea Valley (16-12) or ninth-seeded Addison Trail (15-11) in the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday. Lyons is aiming for its first regional title since 2011.
Lyons senior guard Harrison Niego scored a game-high 17 points while making only one basket in the second half. His sophomore brother Connor Niego had 10 points and eight rebounds and Jaquan Phipps (six rebounds) added 10 points and went 7 of 10 from the line.
“It’s good to show all of our hard work has paid off,” Harrison Niego said. “The No. 1 seed is just a number to us. Our aim is to win the regional, win the sectional and move on.”
The last time Lyons was a No. 1 sectional seed, it lost to eventual state champion Simeon and Jabari Parker in a sectional semifinal.
“We’re trying not to worry about it,” Harrison Niego said. “We’re going game to game. Each game is a new challenge. When you throw the ball up, seeds don’t matter.”
Twitter @geomwilcox