Shorthanded Benet triumphs
If this is what a short-handed Benet boys basketball team looks like, just wait until the Redwings are at full strength.
Down two players due to injury, Benet still stayed unbeaten in the Plainfield North Holiday Round Robin with Thursday's 59-44 victory over Lincoln-Way North.
Benet (7-1) got scoring from just about everywhere, but mostly on 11 3-pointers spread among four players and 14 points in the post from 6-foot-8 sophomore Sean O'Mara.
It was a strong effort considering the Redwings are playing without their top player junior forward Pat McInerney, who is out until early January with a broken wrist. They also played Thursday's game without 6-7 Matt Clements because of an ankle injury.
"Today we had a real nice balance of inside and outside basketball," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "We shot well, but we didn't shoot out of our minds. I think it was a byproduct of playing the right way."
The teams traded leads until Benet hammered the Phoenix (2-8) with a 21-4 second-quarter burst. The Redwings made 8 of 16 shots, including four 3-pointers, to counter 3-of-11 first-quarter shooting.
Griffin Hanekamp, who scored a team-high 15 points, hit four of his five 3-pointers as Benet took a 31-17 lead to the half. Bobby Wehrli added 4 steals and Lincoln-Way North made only one shot in the second quarter.
The Redwings found a comfort zone in the second half, even after Lincoln-Way North switched to man defense midway through the third quarter. Benet held another team in the mid-40s, though, with its own tough man defense.
"All season the coaches really focus on our defense," Wehrli said. "We came out kind of slow, and we weren't really ready for the pace of their offense. After we kind of got going there, our defense played a lot better."
The lead grew to 19 points after a three-point play by Jack Toner late in the third quarter. Benet emptied its bench in the fourth quarter but not before O'Mara scored on an explosive dunk and Wehrli slammed an alley-oop pass from John Enochs.
O'Mara added 7 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots while Enochs tallied 9 points on a trio of 3-pointers. Daryle Morgan led the Phoenix with 15 points.
Benet continues tournament play against Rich East at 5:15 p.m. Friday and concludes at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against Plainfield North.
"It was nice offensively, especially in the second quarter," Hanekamp said. "We got the ball inside to Sean and we got open on the perimeter. It was a good win for our team."