Boys basketball: Benet succumbs to Marist in state championship game, earns second-place trophy
CHAMPAIGN — Colin Stack locked arms with Benet teammates Jayden Wright and Ryan Walsh and made a slow walk off the State Farm Center court amid a Marist celebration.
Benet, in its bid for a repeat state championship, put together one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. The Redwings won 33 consecutive games after the season’s first week, 27 by double figures. They beat every other top contender. It established them as the favorite in Class 4A.
But in a matchup of East Suburban Catholic rivals in that league’s last season, it was Marist that made history Saturday.
The RedHawks shut out Benet in the entire second quarter to build a 10-point lead. And then they spread the Redwings out.
Marist never gave momentum back and beat Benet 44-28 in the Class 4A final for that program’s first state championship.
“Disappointed in the result. All the credit goes to Marist, they played a great game,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “They had a great game plan. The second quarter really hurt us. We couldn’t score. Once we got down they spread us out and we’re not designed to play from behind.”
Benet (36-2) led 7-2 early and 13-12 after the first quarter. Stack scored seven of his nine in the quarter to key the start.
But Marist (33-5) outscored the Redwings 11-0 in the second quarter to take a 23-13 halftime lead.
It was a complete reversal of the teams’ previous meeting, a 77-68 Benet win in the final ESCC game. In that game Stack and Wright combined for 40 points.
But Wright scored just two points Saturday on 1-for-7 shooting. Benet shot 28.9% as a team.
“They had a really good game plan and executed it well, made it really hard on us,” Wright said. “For me personally I missed some shots I normally would have made. I didn’t play well. Give them credit.”
Marist coach Brian Hynes gave big credit for the defense to Stephen Brown. The 6-foot-7 North Carolina State football commit had eight points and eight rebounds, eliminating Benet’s rebounding edge, but his athleticism was key in containing Wright.
“Jayden is one of the best guards in the state and he really hurt us the first game on that ball screen on top,” Hynes said. “We had some length, we wanted to stretch it out. We doubled that and to have a 6-7 (Division I) athlete that can push a guard out to halfcourt and get back to the roll guy makes me look like a great coach.”
Benet cut the lead in half the first 90 seconds of the third quarter on an Edvardas Stasys basket and a Ethan MacDermot 3-pointer. Wright’s only basket made it 23-20.
But Marist came right back with a 9-2 run.
The RedHawks spread Benet out on the bigger floor, worked the clock and broke them down.
Charles Barnes Jr., who scored a game-high 13 points, was a big part of it. The RedHawks only committed two turnovers.
“It was huge, taking that early lead and utilizing the college floor because it is bigger to get the shots we wanted,” Barnes said. “They had to chase us because we were winning.”
MacDermot’s 3-pointer made it a 32-25 margin to the fourth quarter, but Benet went scoreless in the fourth quarter until 1:25 was left as Marist pulled away with a 12-0 run.
Heidkamp complimented Marist’s game plan on both sides.
“Completely different defensively, changed up their game plan,” he said. “Offensively they’re an up-tempo team. They didn’t play up-tempo. They spread us out. That’s the problem, once we got behind we had to chase their athletic guards on a big court. It’s a tough sled.
“It was an excellent game plan. 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.”
Marist, in victory, became the second Chicago private school in the 117-year history of the IHSA tournament to win the big-school championship.
Marist and Hynes, an alum, did it in the program’s first state appearance. If the expectation was that Friday’s Benet-DePaul Prep winner would be champ, the RedHawks thought differently.
“I don’t think the six or seven kids here are surprised,” Hynes said. “The doubters, Marist can’t break through, it really motivated us. These kids have been together for a long time, they’re high-character kids, and the way they guard reflects that.”
Heidkamp reflected on a two-year run with this group that saw Benet go 69-7. It was Benet’s fourth runner-up finish since 2014, joining last year’s first state title.
“These are guys that people at our school will look at 30 or 40 years and talk about what they accomplished,” Heidkamp said. “Disappointed about the outcome, but Marist played an excellent game and is a deserving champ.
“This is a big tournament. The season of work gets you a seed and once you start playing it’s like any other tournament. You have to win seven games and the team that’s playing the best at the end of the year wins it. This year that was Marist. Last year it was Benet.”