Benet defeats rival Naperville North
For all the high-profile boys basketball games on Benet's schedule, Naperville North always merits a circle on the calendar.
The showdown between area rivals stayed competitive until deep in the third quarter Tuesday in Lisle, but Benet pulled away to a 62-41 nonconference win over the Huskies to stay unbeaten.
The Redwings (5-0) now turn their attention to a key East Suburban Catholic meeting against Notre Dame (7-0) on Friday in Lisle. First, though, they had to take care of their neighbors.
“It's a rivalry game, and they always play us tough,” said Benet guard Dave Sobolewski, who scored a game-high 20 points. “We just wanted to come out and play our game, and we did that in spurts tonight. We did a good job.”
Sobolewski scored 13 of Benet's 15 first-quarter points, but Naperville North (2-4) stayed close throughout the first half. Chris McGee's bucket narrowed the Redwings' lead to 15-10 early in the second quarter.
McGee then scored the final 5 points of the first half to bridge the Huskies' halftime gap to 29-19.
In the third quarter, though, Benet surged. The Redwings scored the final 8 points of the period, then tallied the first 7 points of the fourth quarter to build a 56-28 advantage.
Benet knocked down 8 of 9 third-quarter shots while Naperville North made only 3 of 15 attempts from the field.
“We have not played well in any third quarters,” said Huskies coach Jeff Powers. “We have to figure out what we're doing wrong in third quarters.”
The Huskies focused on limiting 7-foot Frank Kaminsky, holding him to 8 points, but guard Matt Parisi broke free for four 3-pointers and 12 points.
“Coach (Gene Heidkamp) told us throughout the week that we needed to get this one, that it's the most important game in front of us,” Parisi said. “We just try to take it one game at a time.”
McGee scored 14 points off the bench for the Huskies, while Jon Mengel added 9 points. Freshman Sean O'Mara scored 8 points for Benet. Kaminsky blocked 5 shots.
“I was a little frustrated with our play in the first half, but I give a lot of credit to Naperville North for that,” Heidkamp said. “I thought in the third quarter our defense was the best that it was throughout the entire game.”