Benet rolls to tourney crown

Northwestern-bound Benet point guard Dave Sobolewski loves being a facilitator for the Redwings' offense.

Who wouldn't with 7-footer Frank Kaminsky on the inside and sharpshooter Matt Parisi on the outside?

Sobolewski, named the MVP of the Plainfield North tournament, dished out 8 assists with Kaminsky and Parisi doing the heavy lifting for Benet, which rolled to a 62-45 winner over the Tigers to claim the tournament title.

“Our whole team contributed huge all week,” Sobolewski said. “Frank had a huge advantage inside in the paint and pretty much scored at will in the second half. ... It makes my job easy when I have two weapons like Frank and Matt. (Opponents) have to pick, do I help down on Frank or do I go deny Parisi. When they pick, one of the other two is open.”

Parisi was hot early, knocking down four of five 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a 23-point afternoon for Benet (10-0).

“It always starts with my teammates,” Parisi said. “Dave will get off the dribble, Frank will drive and draw the defense. I just try to spot up and do what I can to get open and I was fortunate enough to hit shots this tournament.”

Kaminsky scored 16 points and had 5 rebounds and Sobolewski scored 8, but it was the Redwings' effort to go 4-0 throughout the tournament against tough competition that had coach Gene Heidkamp in a good mood.

“It was a good tournament,” said Heidkamp, whose school also won the sophomore tournament. “Our kids played really well against some solid competition. We're pleased with our effort this week.”

Jeremy Bert had 12 to lead the Tigers (9-2), who now realize they hadn't been tested to this point in the season or challenged to adapt against a superior opponent.

“They are very physical, quick,” Plainfield North coach Nick DiForti said. “The first team this year that, I don't want to say matched our getting up and down but did it more effectively. They did the little things we stress to our kids better. They will do a lot of damage this year.”