Extra-tired Benet prevails in extra period

From somewhere, Benet's boys basketball team found the energy.

Even when the Redwings' fourth game in three days went to overtime against Wheaton Warrenville South, they dug that much deeper.

Benet didn't make a field goal in the extra period, but 13-of-14 free-throw shooting allowed the Redwings to survive a 71-62 slugfest in the third-place game of the WW South Martin Luther King tournament.

Champaign Central, which beat Benet 61-52 in Monday afternoon's semifinals, won the tournament title with a 59-46 victory over York. The Dukes advanced to the final by beating WW South 44-39.

"I made the first couple tonight, and with free throws that's kind of key, getting off to a good start and gaining confidence from the free-throw line," said Benet senior Colin Bonnett, an all-tournament selection who made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 28 seconds of regulation and then made all 6 of his overtime attempts.

"It's been a busy week," he said. "Five games in five days. Guys are going to be tired. We've just got to get ready for the next game."

Both teams showed tremendous resiliency given the emotional and physical wear and tear of playing two games Saturday and two on Monday. WW South also played on Friday, and Benet played Thursday.

WW South (9-9) surged to a 48-42 lead early in the fourth quarter after Joe Metzger's 3-pointer and Jeran Simpson's bucket, but Benet (12-6) rallied to take a 58-55 lead with about a minute left on free throws by Bonnett and Jason Malonga, who rebounded Bonnett's miss on his second attempt.

The Tigers sent the game to overtime on a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer by Josh Ruggles, an all-tourney honoree who led his team with 20 points. Ruggles opened overtime with his third and final 3-pointer of the game, but WW South managed only 1 point the rest of the game.

"It was just a great game," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "I told our guys, I don't think anybody lost. I just feel like Benet won. It wasn't a game of mistakes, it was a game of plays. I'm really proud of our kids."

Sobolewski and Bonnett each scored 21 points for Benet, while James Dockery added 11. Eric Rasch had 16 points for WW South.

"It was a hard-fought game, and I'm obviously proud of our kids to be able to pull it out," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "It's a credit to both teams. You wouldn't have known it was the fourth game in three days."

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