Benet clinches at the line
Benet never did hit a field goal in the fourth quarter Saturday night against St. Francis.
It didn't need to.
Instead the Redwings hit their free throws, making 23 of 30 in the final eight minutes of a 61-47 nonconference victory against their archrival at Benedictine University.
"Once they had to start scrambling and fouling us, I had confidence we were going to hit our foul shots," said Benet senior Joe Morris, who made 5 of 6 himself, all in the fourth. "I thought it was over then."
Morris had good reason to be confident. The Redwings didn't blink under pressure in the waning minutes, despite a standing-room-only crowd that included both schools' pep bands and large student cheering sections.
"This is our biggest turnout of the year every year. It's a huge game for both sides," Morris said. "There's so many fans every year, it's just a really fun game."
The Redwings (10-12) enjoyed a 10-0 start to the game, but St. Francis (14-9) fought back, taking its first lead on a Clint Pierce 3-pointer in the second quarter to make the score 20-19.
But like it did in the first quarter, Benet started the third well, breaking a halftime tie with a 6-0 run on 3-of-3 shooting.
"In the third quarter we came out and got off to a good start," Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp said. "We were able to get a little bit of pressure in the backcourt. We got a couple of quick baskets and that helped us get a little separation."
"We talked about that at halftime," added Spartans coach Shawn Healy. "We said that these first few minutes in the third quarter are pretty important. Obviously, it started off on the wrong end."
An Austin Wagner buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Benet a 38-28 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Spartans never recovered.
"They just played a good basketball game, we didn't," Healy said. "We didn't deserve to win. It's not that I'm not proud of my kids. We're just scuffling right now. We're not in sync."
It showed in the way the Spartans shot the basketball. They made just 27 percent from the field, 61 percent at the free-throw line.
"I think both teams played really hard," Heidkamp said. "Our kids played hard on defense. It didn't seem like (the Spartans) shot that poorly, but maybe they just had one of those nights."
Benet sophomore Dave Sobolewski led all scorers with 19 points, making 13 of 14 foul shots. Wagner scored 13 points, including four 3-pointers, and Joe Meyerhoff added 11.
Pierce led the Spartans with 13 points, Ryan Ferguson added 12 and Dave Palash 11.
Benet 61, st. Francis 47
St. Francis- Palash 4 3-5 11, Murison 0 0-1 0, Ferguson 3 6-10 12, Pfeiffer 1 2-4 4, Pierce 2 7-8 13, Robinson 1 0-0 2, Coyle 2 1-3 5. Totals 13 19-31 47.
Benet - Sobolewski 3 13-14 19, Morris 1 5-6 7, Runger 3 2-3 8, Wagner 4 1-2 13, Meyerhoff 3 5-8 11, Coffey 0 2-4 2, Flood 0 0-0 0, Maag 0 0-0 0, J. Veselik 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 29-39 61.
St Francis 7 14 7 19 -47
Benet 12 9 17 23 -61
3-point baskets: SF: Pierce 2. B: Wagner 4. Fouled out: SF: Palash, Pfeiffer, Ferguson. B: Morris.