Benet Beats JCA in Wild Weekend

“The Original March Madness” began 8 days early this year, and this weekend of basketball was absolutely spectacular.  Seeds for the IHSA State Tournament, which begins on March 3, were released on Thursday, and the playoff brackets were released Friday.  On Friday, #1 Curie outlasted #3 Whitney Young by a score of 69-66 in four overtimes to win the Chicago Public League tournament championship in a game that saw the Condors blow a six point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation.  That same night saw a double overtime contest between #2 Stevenson and #15 Lake Forest.  Lake Forest forward Evan Boudreaux scored 43 points, but Stevenson junior point guard Jalen Brunson, who already has five Big Ten offers, scored a school-record 56 points.  Lake Forest hit a game-tying shot with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then tied the game again with 16 seconds remaining in the first overtime.  However, a Brunson runner with six seconds left in the second overtime put the Patriots up 95-93 and proved to be the dagger for Stevenson. 

Neither team had any time to rest, as Stevenson played #6 Simeon on Saturday, and Lake Forest played #4 Marian Catholic.  The Patriots were able to defeat Simeon 65-56 in a rematch of last year’s IHSA Class 4A State Championship.  Stevenson trailed in the second half, but a personal 8-0 by junior guard Connor Cashaw put Stevenson up 42-36, and Stevenson led the rest of the way.

Lake Forest, however, could not keep pace with Marian Catholic and fell 67-63.  Marian senior point guard Tyler Ulis, who has committed to play at Kentucky, scored 35 of a career-high 42 points in the second half.  Lake Forest led by one with just over one minute remaining, but Ulis scored seven points in the final 55 seconds to seal the game for the Spartans.  A heartbreaking weekend for Lake Forest ended with two losses by a combined six points to teams whose combined record is 49-3.

And now back to the East Aurora Sectional in which Benet is the #1 seed.  On Friday, Glenbard North upset #5-seeded Naperville Central to force a three-way tie in the DuPage Valley Conference.  West Aurora, the third team in the first-place tie, kept pace with a 50-38 win over Wheaton North.  The following day, #2-seeded West Aurora survived an upset-minded #9-seed Naperville North 42-40 in overtime.  Senior guard Jontrell Walker scored a game-high 24 points, and junior Tommy Koth hit a game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds left in overtime.  Naperville Central responded with a blowout win over Wheaton North, and #10-seeded Plainfield East surprised #7-seed Neuqua Valley 61-58.  Lastly, Benet pulled away from Joliet Catholic in the second half and won 72-46.  The Redwings led 25-24 in the second quarter before a 41-10 run put the game out of reach.

Benet’s final regular season game is on Wednesday, February 26 at home against Carmel.  A win in this game guarantees at least a third-place finish in the East Suburban Catholic Conference behind conference champion Marian Catholic and St. Viator.

Benet, as noted earlier, is the #1 seed in the East Aurora Sectional, followed by West Aurora, Bolingbrook, Hinsdale Central, and Naperville Central.  The Redwings face the winner of Lemont High School and Oswego East on Tuesday, March 4 in the regional semifinal, and would then play the winner of Naperville North and #8-seed Waubonsie Valley in the Lemont Regional championship.  Looking farther ahead, Benet would likely face the winner of Hinsdale Central and Naperville Central in the sectional semifinal, and then the winner of West Aurora and either Bolingbrook or Geneva in the East Aurora Sectional final.  West Aurora has won the last two sectional championships, including a 42-38 upset of Benet last year.  If the Redwings survive their sectional, Benet would face #1-seed York, beaten earlier in the season by the Redwings, or #2-seed Proviso East for a chance to go to the State Final Four.  The other teams ‘downstate’ would likely be Marian Catholic, Stevenson, and one of the Chicago Public League powers, Curie, Whitney Young, or Simeon.  Because of their geographical proximity, only one of Chicago’s three top basketball schools can win a sectional championship.

Benet Uses Second Half Surge to Blow out Nazareth

The Benet boys' varsity basketball team defeated Nazareth Academy 66-45 on Friday, February 14 to improve its record to 16-7 overall and 4-2 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.  Neither team was able to take control of the game early in front of two enormous student sections spurred on by a war of words on Twitter throughout the week.  The Redwings and Roadrunners traded baskets for most of the first half, and Benet took a 23-21 lead into halftime.  However, the Redwings scored 28 points in the third quarter and extended their lead to 51-40 at the end of the quarter.  Nazareth hit a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, but Benet responded with a 13-0 run that put the game out of reach.  Sean O'Mara, who led all scorers with 25 points and exceeded 1500 points for his career, had several consecutive dunks and layups in that run, including one 'and-one' dunk that ignited the Benet crowd.  The Redwings held the rival Roadrunners to two points in the last 7:30 of the game and won their third consecutive ESCC game.
Benet's next game is on Tuesday at home against Wheaton Academy.  The game is Senior Night for the Redwings.

Benet Falls to Stevenson

The Benet boys' varsity basketball team lost to #2 Stevenson by a score of 77-64 on Saturday, February 8, dropping the Redwings' record to 14-7.  Benet trailed by only two points at the end of the first quarter, but the Patriots started the second quarter on an 18-0 run and pushed their lead to as many as 25 points in the third quarter.  A Redwing run in the third and fourth quarters cut that lead down to 8 points with just under six minutes remaining in the game, but Stevenson responded with several three-point shots to extend its lead back to double digits.  Sean O'Mara, who led Benet with 27 points and 12 rebounds, fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, and the teams traded baskets until the end of the game.
Benet's next game is on Tuesday night at home against Rich East High School Rockets, who enter the game with a record of 14-3.

Benet Beats Marist, Moves into Third in ESCC

The Benet varsity boys' basketball team defeated Marist on Friday, January 7 by a score of 52-35.  Benet, which is now 14-6 and 3-2 in the ESCC, is in sole possession of third place in the extremely competitive East Suburban Catholic Conference.  The Redwings started quickly and led 26-10 early in the second quarter, but a late Marist run cut Benet's halftime lead to 26-21.  However, the Redwings outscored the Redhawks 15-6 in the third quarter and extended their lead to as many 21 in the second half.  Benet allowed 14 of a season-low 35 points in the second half, and 5 of those points came within the last minute of the game; no Redhawk player scored more than nine points.  Sean O'Mara scored a game-high 20 points for the Redwings, and Collin Pellettieri hit four three-pointers, giving him an ESCC-high 13 made threes in conference games.
Benet's next game is today against Stevenson High School at the Batavia Night of Hoops.  The 20-1 Patriots are ranked #2 in the state by the Chicago Tribune and are led by Jalen Brunson, the #2 junior point guard in the nation, according to ESPN RecruitingNation.

Benet Finishes Weekend 2-0

The Benet boys' varsity basketball team rebounded from two close losses last weekend to defeat St. Patrick on Friday, January 31 and Evanston on Saturday, February 2.  Benet's record now stands at 13-6 and 2-2 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.  Through four conference games, center Sean O'Mara leads the ESCC at 24.5 points per conference game, guard Collin Pellettieri is tied for second in the ESCC with 9 three-pointers made, and forward Liam Nelligan is tied for fourth with 7 three-pointers made.

The Redwings allowed only four points in the first 11 minutes of the game against St. Patrick and led 19-15 at halftime.  The Shamrocks briefly took the lead in the third quarter, but a Redwing run gave Benet a 53-43 lead midway through the fourth quarter.  St. Pat's was able to cut the lead to four, but Benet made several key free throws in the final minutes and held on for a 58-51 conference win.
On Saturday, the Redwings defeated Evanston in the second game of the War on the Shore at Loyola Academy.  The Redwings led 35-14 at halftime and 43-18 early in the third quarter, but a Wildkit run cut the Benet lead to 56-52 late in the fourth quarter.  However, Benet was able to break Evanston's full-court press numerous times and ended the game on a 15-6 run.
The Redwings will next travel to Marist High School on Friday, February 7 at then play 17-1 Stevenson, the #2 team in Illinois, as part of the Batavia Night of Hoops on Saturday.