Benet hits the boards, downs Plainfield North

Anyone wondering how Benet was able to post a 60-46 victory on Wednesday night over Plainfield North in the first round of Plainfield North's holiday tournament need only consider the waning moments of the third quarter.

With eight seconds left Frank Kaminsky grabbed a missed Plainfield North shot, wheeled upcourt and found teammate Dylan Flood for a layup attempt. When Flood missed, Matt Parisi was there for a follow-up shot. When Parisi's try rolled off the rim, James Roemer rose and tipped the ball in at the buzzer, completing a decisive 11-3 run and giving the Redwings a 42-35 edge. Those were just two of Benet's 18 offensive rebounds on the night.

"Our coach pounds into us that we need to hit the offensive glass all the time," said Kaminsky, who counted 3 offensive rebounds among his game-high 10 boards. "They weren't boxing out, they were just looking to get out and run, so we took advantage of it."

That coach, Gene Heidkamp, explained why he's constantly preaching the Gospel According to Windex.

"In our program we emphasize rebounding on both ends; creating second and third shots is big for us," Heidkamp said. "We have good shooters, but you can't count only on the jump shot. We have to establish our inside game, and when we start hitting shots, we have a chance to be a pretty good team."

Those words would seem to fly in the face of the fact that Benet improved to 8-0 on the season with the victory - and should serve as a warning to future opponents to look out when the Redwings eventually start heating up from the perimeter.

Benet's offensive rebounding intentions were established early as Flood and Kaminsky recorded putback baskets to help stake the Redwings to a 14-11 lead after eight minutes. The advantage remained at 24-21 at the half after a sluggish second quarter by both teams. Plainfield North (4-3) took its final lead of the night at 32-31 when Jesse Brock banked in a layup high off the glass, but Benet responded with a 9-0 burst thanks to Kaminsky's layin, Dave Sobolewski's 3-pointer and four straight free throws by Mike Runger prior to Roemer's buzzer-beater.

In analyzing the outcome Tigers coach Nick DiForti said his squad "lost the game during warmups" and described its overall play as "soft."

"We didn't come ready to play and they did - and they made us look foolish," he said. "They controlled the boards, especially at the offensive end, and when you do that you'll be successful."

The Redwings continue tournament play tonight against Joliet and close out the four-day event with games against Lockport on Friday night and Lincoln-Way North on Saturday afternoon.

"There's a lot of tough teams here; every game is going to be a tough one," Heidkamp said.