Benet dominates Carmel to stay perfect in ESCC
Benet coach Gene Heidkamp's basketball philosophy is pretty simple.
Play defense, execute the offensive plays, look for the best shot and rebound.
It's the playbook that has netted the Redwings coach over 400 career wins.
Friday night in Mundelein against Carmel there was no exception.
Patrick Walsh and Ewola Moukoulou, a pair of seniors, helped provide the spark in the second half that lifted Benet to a 49-19 win in the East Suburban Catholic.
The win keeps Benet in sole possession of first place.
Walsh would be the only double digit scorer for the Redwings (18-3, 10-0) with 13 points. Moukoulou would score 5 of his 8 points in the third quarter.
Jayden Wright and Gabe Sularski would each score six points. Sophomore Colin Stack pulled down 7 of Benet’s 28 rebounds to Carmel’s 14.
Benet shot well from the field converting 20 of 45 shots. Carmel had its worst shooting night of the year connecting on 6 of 34.
"I'm a little worried about Carmel," said Heidkamp before the game. "We're a bit banged up and they have some height and strength inside. Their guards play well."
The Corsairs (9-16, 2-10) led 5-2 early but Walsh connected on a three-point basket with 2:26 left in the first quarter for a Benet 7-5 lead. Walsh would score again on an assist from Moukoulou with :43 left in the quarter for a 9-5 lead.
The Redwings began clicking in the second quarter and went on a 12-2 run to finish the first half ahead 23-9.
"We got off to a slow start," said Heidkamp, "but then we began to pick it up in the middle of the second quarter. Even when we weren't scoring in the first half we were playing hard on defense. Carmel can score points. The second half we played and competed well. Walsh and Moukoulou are seniors and they are tough. They know what to do."
Following a 3-point basket by Carmel’s Kaleb Jackson (11 points) to make the score 23-12, Walsh went to work.
He converted two free throws, then a three-point play, and topped that off with a three-point basket from the left wing for a 31-12 lead with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
Walsh missed Tuesday’s win against Joliet Catholic after sustaining an injury in Saturday’s loss to Thornton.
"Anyone on our team can score," said Walsh. "Tonight just happened to be my night. When everyone plays their role we are a tough team to beat."
Moukoulou finished the quarter scoring the last five points for a 43-14 lead.
Stack’s slam dunk to start the fourth quarter put the running clock in motion.
"We had some good energy in the third quarter," said Moukoulou. "We didn't want them to get any confidence so we just wanted to play hard to start the quarter. We have a lot of guys who can play and score and they know how to step up."
"We didn't come out very well in the second half," said Carmel coach Dmitry Pirshin. "The shots didn't fall, the transition was not there and they did a great job crashing the glass rebounding. Walsh shot well and he hurt us."
"We're at crunch time of the season," said Heidkamp. "These guys want more. They all want to contribute."