Boys basketball: Benet rides dominant first half past West Aurora to regional title

Two down.

Three more to go for Benet.

The Redwings, the defending Class 4A state champions, are right on course for another run to the State Farm Center in Champaign.

After winning the East Suburban Catholic Conference regular season title, the Redwings added their second noteworthy accomplishment on Friday night.

The Redwings (31-1) learned the importance of picking up contributions from several players in the playoffs in their surge to the program’s first state title last season.

The top-seeded Redwings cruised to a 67-25 win over host 11th-seeded West Aurora at Gordie Kerkman Gymnasium. Benet will play No. 13-seed Yorkville in a Bolingbrook Sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Even with a state championship on their resumes, Benet senior point guard Jayden Wright and senior center Colin Stack happily reached for the regional plaque in the postgame, holding the treasured piece of hardware while walking toward their teammates.

Wright and Stack kick-started the postgame celebration, leading to the entire team jumping up and down to relish the accomplishment on the court.

“Anytime you get a chance to play for a championship, it’s a big deal,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “A regional championship is a whole season’s worth of work, from trying to get a good seed to being ready when the time comes to play your best basketball at this time of the year. I’m really proud of the guys.”

In their second playoff game this season, the Redwings followed the same script to a dominating 36-12 halftime lead.

Wright (10 points) carved up the Blackhawks with his drives in the halfcourt, zig-zagging his way toward the basket with several hesitation moves for eight points by halftime.

Senior guard Aidan Renicker, who made four 3-pointers for 14 points, supplied the long-range shooting, drilling three 3-pointers in a two-plus minute span in the second quarter. Senior guard Ethan MacDermot powered the offense by scoring four of Benet’s first seven points.

And junior forward Edvardas Stasys (12 points) played strong in the paint with 10 first-half points, while Stack was his usual steady self for the Redwings.

All that was just in the first half.

“I’ve been putting in the work and just trusted my shot,” Renicker said after scoring eight points in limited playing time. “I just kept shooting my shot. It felt amazing. The crowd helped me. It felt good to win a regional.”

MacDermot agreed with his teammate, noting the strong start set the tone.

“We got to play to our strengths, getting down the floor and playing inside and outside,” MacDermot said. “Everyone got their own tonight. It was great fun. It was a good team win for us.”

The second half turned into a slog after the Redwings seized control of the game, rendering West Aurora’s offense to a series of missed shots and turnovers. The Blackhawks trailed 53-12 after the Redwings put the clamps on defense, failing to score a point in the second half until senior guard Antonio Higgins made a pair of free throws with 43.5 left in the third to end the scoring drought.

The Blackhawks (19-14) showed some flair for the future, especially from junior Travis Brown Jr., who finished with 12 points. The electric point guard sparked the home team despite insurmountable odds, scoring seven of their opening eight points.

But West Aurora had issues throughout Friday’s game against Benet’s pesky defense, committing several unforced turnovers, mainly in the halfcourt to score just six first-quarter points.

“I thought they really stepped up and played very well,” Heidkamp said. “I think we defended at a high level. It was a big difference for us.”