Bennett's surge helps Plainfield E. stop Geneva
Geneva kept Plainfield East's Brian Bennett in check nearly the entire game during the Class 4A Naperville North regional opener Monday night.
But the 6-foot-9, 270-pound center came alive just when his team needed it the most, scoring the Bengals' final 7 points of the game to wipe out a late 44-42 Geneva lead and spark his team to a 49-44 victory that ended the Vikings' season.
"When I was sitting on the bench, I was just trying to get my head focused again because I struggled with that in the first half, missing a few shots here and there," Bennett said after his team survived a game that had 12 lead changes and four ties in the second half.
"I figured I had to settle down for my team, because we didn't want to go home after the first game, like we did last year," said Bennett, who hit three free throws and two inside baskets after a Dan Hince bank shot had given Geneva that final lead of 44-42 with 3:40 left.
Plainfield East (15-12) played without injured leading scorer Deontre Brown, but advanced to Wednesday night's contest against the undefeated Benet Redwings behind Bennett's team-high 11 points and Myles Walters' 9 points.
Geneva (12-17) was led by Dan Trimble's game-high 14 points, but a rugged Plainfield East defense kept Trimble off the scoreboard in a fourth quarter in which the Vikings tallied only 4 points.
"There were a couple of calls that went against us that took the wind out of our sails a little bit, and it was really nip-and-tuck, but our guys were flagging a little bit and you could see it in their legs," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "We tried to keep them as fresh as we could for the fourth quarter, but it's really been the story of our season when we don't execute in the fourth quarter, we lose."
Geneva started fast, opening a 15-4 lead on a fast-break basket by Brad Bernhard, but Plainfield East eventually clawed back to tie the score at 24-24 at halftime.
Trimble's 3-point basket at the end of the third quarter lifted Geneva to a 40-37 lead entering the final period, but the Vikings would get only two Brendan Leahy free throws and the Hince bank shot in the fourth quarter.
"We tried and we hustled and did everything we could to get that win, but unfortunately we didn't end up with it," said Leahy, who finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds. "We can't hang our heads, we had a tough season, but a good one and have to take something away from it."
Ralston said his team protected the lane well the entire game, until Bennett was found open near the basket. In the meantime, Plainfield East's defense got stronger in the fourth quarter.
"I have to give them a tremendous amount of credit," Ralston said. "Their pressure is just unbelievable, and that's probably as good of a pressure defense as we've seen all season, and we've seen some really good teams this year."
Geneva hit 17 of 45 shots from the floor and committed 16 turnovers, while Plainfield East made 15 of 42 shots and committed 18 turnovers.