Benet 52, St. Francis 50

Just as he had all night, Joe Meyerhoff stood tall when his team needed him most.

Benet's 6-foot-8 junior center hit a turnaround jumper with 25 seconds left, giving the Redwings a 1-point lead on St. Francis after they had let a 5-point cushion slip away.

He ripped down a rebound at the other end, preserving Benet's 52-50 win Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of more than 1,200 at the Spyglass Athletic Center in Wheaton.

Meyerhoff added a free throw in the final seconds, finishing off a 22-point, 12-point effort.

"He was a monster tonight," Benet coach Marty Gaughan said. "He was a man down there. Just a great, great basketball game."

Benet (9-8) led nearly the entire second half after trailing 28-27 at the half. Brian Gaughan's 3-pointer with 2:18 left gave the Redwings a 49-44 lead.

They still had that lead, and the ball with 1:25 remaining went things went haywire.

Benet turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions. Free throws by David Palash and Brian McMahon pulled St. Francis within 49-48.

Benet missed a free throw, McMahon was fouled and hit 2 free throws to put St. Francis ahead 50-49.

But Meyerhoff stepped up with his score in the lane. At the other end McMahon missed a contested shot on a drive in the lane, and Meyerhoff yanked down the board with 6.9 seconds left.

"We were down 5 with under two minutes left," said McMahon, who had 20 points and 15 rebounds for St. Francis. "I give our team a lot of credit for coming back."

After Meyerhoff split 2 free throws, St. Francis missed a long 3-point attempt as time expired.

"It shouldn't have been this close," Meyerhoff said.

Meyerhoff, held to 2 points in a loss to Carmel on Friday, came off the bench to score 9 points in the second quarter. His stickback with 48 seconds left in the half pulled Benet within 28-27, and the Redwings took the lead on a follow by Ryan Haggerty seconds into the third quarter.

"I just really wanted to use my size advantage, go strong to the basket," Meyerhoff said. "Last year they beat us on our home court. To come in this year and win on their home court is just amazing."

Jack Purdom added 9 points for St. Francis (12-7).

Tickets for the game between long-time rivals were sold out by midweek in 90 minutes. Fans lined the balcony behind the bleachers to catch the action.

"The crowd was big for the sophomore game. I haven't seen a crowd that big for some varsity games at our place," said Brian Gaughan, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half. "This is just a great win."