Benet shut off East Aurora's electricity
Benet surrendered 16 points more than usual Wednesday night, but who's counting?
Certainly not the Redwings.
Against a powerhouse offense like East Aurora's - led by a powerhouse player in junior Ryan Boatright - Benet knew it would have to absorb some body shots from the talented Tomcats.
In the end it didn't matter that East Aurora finished with 60 points. Not when the Redwings had 72 points of their own.
With the victory No. 3 Benet (25-3) advances to Friday's Class 4A Neuqua Valley sectional final to face No. 1 Glenbard East (27-1).
"If they would have gotten into the 70s, we would have had a lot of trouble," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "I thought our defensive effort was pretty strong. They have a ton of talent and they're great players."
It'll be another tough assignment for the Redwings on Friday, but they'll be ready after facing Boatright. The flashy guard finished with 18 points before fouling out with 1:55 left in the game, well below the 42.5 points a game Boatright averaged in two regional wins.
Benet junior guard Matt Parisi drew the bulk of the assignment on Boatright in the Redwings' man-to-man defense. Backcourt mate Dave Sobolewski presented a second line of defense and 6-foot-10 center Frank Kaminsky added a third line around the basket.
"It was a real challenge tonight because we had a lot of respect for Boatright, he's a great player," Parisi said. "It was pretty tiring. (Boatright's) by far the quickest guy I've guarded since I've been playing basketball."
Boatright had his electric moments, but Parisi & Co. did their best to limit him.
"The game went the whole opposite way that we wanted it to go," Boatright said. "My shot wasn't falling and the shots that I did have, they were getting away with smacking my arms and my elbows."
East Aurora held an 11-7 lead midway through the first quarter and then went stunningly silent on offense. Benet scored 12 straight points to build a 19-11 lead and held the Tomcats scoreless for 7:29.
The Redwings led the rest of the way. Other than an 8-0 third-quarter run, East Aurora never scored more than 4 straight points in the final three quarters.
Parisi's defense was mighty commendable. He didn't shut down Boatright, but slowing him at all was impressive after the way he lit up Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley last week.
When Parisi ran into foul trouble, Sobolewski took over with help from others. That help included Kaminsky's swatting arms that accounted for 3 blocked shots and many more alterations.
So don't be deceived by Benet's allowance of at least 60 points for the third straight playoff game after surrendering that many points only once during the regular season.
Benet's still winning with defense when it matters most.
And if defense truly wins championships, the Redwings will find out on Friday.
kschmit@dailyherald.com