Scouting East Aurora: Benet vs. Hinsdale Central

Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinal

No. 1 Benet (21-7) vs. No. 4 Hinsdale Central (23-6)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Outlook: A basketball fan's natural instinct is to instantly gravitate toward a fantastic post showdown between 6-foot-9 Benet senior center Sean O'Mara, committed to Xavier, and 6-7 Red Devils junior Matt Rafferty. O'Mara demands double- and even triple-teams to be contained, but it'll be interesting to see if Hinsdale Central plays him straight up with Rafferty, who thrived with a game-high 24 points against Naperville Central's potent inside game on Friday. With 6-5 Grant Lillard joining Rafferty in the frontcourt, and 6-6 Ian Bunting and George Kiernan coming off the bench, Hinsdale Central has plenty to throw at O'Mara, Benet's all-time leading scorer. The Red Devils also will be wary of Benet's outside game when O'Mara kicks the ball out to Collin Pellettieri, Colin Bonnett, Dan Roemer and others. If the Redwings are effective from the perimeter, watch out. They're awfully tough to beat. Hinsdale Central boasts one of the area's premier athletes in Chase Hamilton, the football team's quarterback who will play tennis at Valparaiso.

Advancement: The winner advances to play Wednesday's winner between No. 2 West Aurora (23-5) and No. 6 Geneva (24-5) in Friday's sectional final.