Scouting Benet vs. East Aurora
By Kevin Schmit
Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinals
No. 4 East Aurora (23-5) vs. No. 1 Benet (29-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at East Aurora High School
Road to the sectional: East Aurora beat No. 13 Plainfield North, 67-54, and No. 5 Neuqua Valley, 62-59 in overtime. Benet beat No. 16 Plainfield East, 65-35, and No. 9 Naperville North, 43-42, in double overtime.
Outlook: This is a rematch of last year’s Neuqua Valley sectional semifinals, a game won 72-60 by Benet. The primary players in this game remain the same. East Aurora senior guard Ryan Boatright, committed to Connecticut, is an elite player who managed 32 points against Neuqua Valley in the face of a triangle-and-two defensive scheme. Benet senior Matt Parisi, the team’s defensive stopper on the perimeter, limited Boatright to 18 points in last year’s meeting. Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp, though, knows his team can’t afford to focus on Boatright at the expense of forgetting the Tomcats’ other key contributors. East Aurora guard Snoop Viser is expected back from a finger injury while 6-foot-5 Tom Okapal scored a season-high 11 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Neuqua Valley. With those numbers in mind, Benet needs a big rebounding game from Wisconsin-bound 7-footer Frank Kaminsky, sophomore Pat McInerney and Pat Boyle. Game pace also will be an issue. Don’t expect a game in the 40s like Benet’s regional final. That’s fine with the Redwings, who have posted four 70-point games this season. But Benet must shoot better than the 30 percent shooting from Friday’s game. If Kaminsky gets it going inside, that’ll open things up for Parisi, who has 75 3-pointers. Of course, Benet’s offense feeds off the talent of Northwestern-bound point guard Dave Sobolewski, who scored a game-high 19 points against Naperville North. The Redwings’ success depends upon Sobolewski’s ability to keep the offense whirring.
Advancement: The winner advances to play Wednesday’s winner between No. 3 Glenbard East (24-3) and No. 2 Downers Grove South (25-3) in Friday’s sectional final.