FLOSSMOOR | Not much can scare Homewood-Flossmoor junior Julian Lewis.

Not even the thought of guarding Thornton's Reggie Smith, one of the best players in the state.

Not after getting knocked in the mouth during a recent game and almost losing four front teeth. Playing tough defense is cake -- something he can now eat.

On Feb. 19 against Bolingbrook he took a blow to the mouth and had his lower front four teeth smashed down 90 degrees, much like a flattened fence.

He was supposed to undergo surgery on Feb. 20, but the doctor simply reached in and pulled the teeth back to their original position.

"Oh, I jumped a little, well, a lot, they gave me some (anesthetic), but not much," Lewis said of his procedure. "It hurt, but I knew I'd come back and play."

He missed two games but was ready by the postseason. On Wednesday he held Smith to three second-half points as the Vikings beat the Wildcats 55-46 before a packed, loud gym and bipartisan crowd in one semifinal of the Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional.

H-F (21-8) has won nine in a row and faces Joliet Twp. at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the sectional championship. The Steelmen beat the Vikings twice in the regular season and were the last team to beat H-F.

"(Lewis) did a great job tonight and I think we sat him down for only a minute," H-F coach Jim McLaughlin said. "When he was out, we made sure he still ran, and he ran and ran to stay in shape and it paid off."

Lewis was also spectacular on offense as he had 12 points, including nine in the first half.

"He was all over me and did a good job," said Smith, a Marquette recruit who finished with 16 points. "He played tough defense and denied me the ball."

H-F's Tim Williams dominated inside with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. Williams said he was open underneath.

"My teammates just kept getting the ball to me, they kept finding me," Williams said. "My job is to go out there and try and get rebounds and keep (the other team) off the boards."

For the game, H-F outrebounded Thornton 40-31. Tyrone Sherman added 17 points for the Vikings, who were 15-of-38 from the field, but were 22-of-29 from the free-throw line.

Thornton (22-6) hurt itself at the free-throw line as it made just 11-of-23 attempts and was 17-of-64 from the field.

"If we could have made just 75 percent of our free throws and a few more shots, we would have been right there," Thornton coach Troy Jackson said. "That was the story right there."

BOYS BASKETBALL

Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional

Semifinal

Homewood-Flossmoor 55, Thornton 46

The Vikings made 11-of-15 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.