Schmit: Too little, too late? Let the shot clock era begin

As the game clock ticked away on the IHSA basketball season Saturday night in Champaign, the shot clock remained conspicuously silent.

Marist beat Benet 44-28 in the Class 4A state title game, denying the Redwings a chance at becoming just the third repeat champion in 4A since the four-class era began in 2008.

Benet — after a season of excellence featuring a 33-game winning streak heading into the 4A final — deserved better. Especially senior leaders Jayden Wright, Colin Stack and Ethan MacDermot.

It was horrible timing for Benet, which played its worst game in recent memory. The second quarter, where the Redwings scored no points, was certainly their worst stretch of basketball in a very long time.

Marist led by the yawning score of 23-13 at halftime, virtually ending the game.

The second half became one of excellent strategy by the RedHawks as they spread the larger college court on offense with long, quick ball-handlers. They forced Benet’s defenders to constantly chase them in an effort to get the ball back for a precious possession.

The Redwings are good on defense, but not that good. Not good enough to make up a 10-point deficit when their opponent is content running minutes off the clock.

As Benet coach Gene Heidkamp stressed after the loss, that’s not meant as a criticism of Marist. You play the game with the rules dictated. You do what it takes to win with a state title hanging in the balance.

And, as Heidkamp said, he might’ve done the same thing with a lead. The fact is, you can’t say Benet deserved to win that game after going the entire second quarter without managing a single point.

Even with a shot clock, the 10-point deficit was going to be a Mt. Everest to climb. When the Redwings actually had possession of the ball in the second half, the sense of urgency often got the best of them with less-than-ideal shot attempts.

That being said, and here it comes, let’s give a standing ovation to the start of the shot clock era. The 35-second possession begins in November, and I can’t wait.

Only two other IHSA title games since 1942, in any class, finished with fewer points than Saturday’s 44-28 final. You have to go back to 1940 to find a finalist with fewer points than Benet.

Again, though, Heidkamp and the Redwings didn’t complain about the slow-down strategy by Marist. The Redwings made their own bed, and they knew it.

“It was an excellent game plan,” Heidkamp said. “It will be the last time you see that, because next year there will be a shot clock. They got the lead and did what they needed to to get the win.”

There’s also a mistaken belief about slowing down games. It’s not about how you play offense because everything depends on defense.

The state’s top defensive teams (like Benet is, traditionally) will thrive in the shot clock era because they’ll force opponents into bad shots late in possessions. It’s another reason why you can’t take anything away from Marist and its performance on Saturday.

The RedHawks’ defense must be commended for holding the defending champion scoreless for an entire quarter — in a state title game, no less. That was ultimately the deciding factor, not how Marist chose to maintain its lead in the second half.

Play the same game a year from now, and Marist might win again with a shot clock.

Unfortunately for Benet, we’ll never know.