Benet survives in 2 OTs
No matter what joy or pain comes Benet’s way the rest of this month, Friday night won’t be forgotten.
In a stunning effort by both boys basketball teams, the top-ranked Redwings survived an incredible scare by beating Naperville North 43-42 in double overtime in the Class 4A Naperville North regional final.
Frank Kaminsky’s lay-in with more than two minutes left in the second overtime gave Benet (29-0) its margin of victory, but by no means was it a cakewalk the rest of the way.
Two jump balls and two turnovers added even more tension to the game, leading to Naperville North’s final possession with 21.8 seconds left. With time ticking away, Jovonn Griffin’s driving layup just missed the mark.
In the scramble for the ball that followed, time ran out to preserve Benet’s win. The Redwings advance to play fourth-seeded East Aurora (23-5) in Tuesday’s East Aurora sectional semifinals.
“At every timeout I kind of grabbed the five guys that were in,” said Benet guard Dave Sobolewski, who scored a game-high 19 points. “I was like, ‘Guys, this isn’t going to end tonight.’”
Ninth-seeded Naperville North (16-12) lost to Benet by 21 points in early December without leading scorer Matt LaCosse, but the Huskies were far from intimidated by the nationally ranked Redwings.
LaCosse, who scored a team-high 12 points before fouling out near the start of the second overtime, knocked down a deep 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 37 apiece.
Then in the first overtime, after the Huskies were held scoreless for the first 3:35 of the period, LaCosse hit another 3-pointer to send it to double overtime knotted at 40.
“I don’t know if it was skill or luck, or if someone was on my side,” said LaCosse, who had made only one 3-pointer all season. “But, hey, we had the ball in the final seconds to win the game against the No. 1 team in the state, sixth team in the nation. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Benet trudged its way to a 17-7 second-quarter lead after holding Naperville North scoreless for more than seven minutes. The lead grew to 24-13 early in the third quarter, but Jon Mengel’s three-point play narrowed the Huskies’ gap to 30-24 heading to the fourth quarter.
Naperville North held Benet scoreless for the first 6:37 of the fourth quarter and took 1-point leads on Mengel’s 3-pointer and three-point play.
“It would have been hard for us to play worse than we did, but I give a lot of credit to them,” said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp, whose team missed 6 of 8 free throws in the extra periods and shot 12 of 40 from the field for the game. “Sometimes you survive and advance in March, and tonight was our night.”
Kaminsky scored 7 of his 10 points in the game’s final nine minutes. Mengel scored 9 points before fouling out in the first overtime.
“For me personally, that’s the greatest game I’ve ever been involved in,” said Huskies coach Jeff Powers. “I just thought it was an unbelievable effort by both teams.”