York turns tables against Benet
York's boys basketball team played the best kind of role reversal Friday night.
The Dukes traditionally struggle against Benet - including a loss in December - but this time they managed to pull out a 39-31 victory over the Redwings in the Class 4A Glenbard West regional title game.
After winning its third straight regional championship, seventh-seeded York (18-12) advances to face No. 6 West Aurora (20-8) in Wednesday's East Aurora sectional semifinals. The Blackhawks beat No. 3 Wheaton North as each of the sectional's top three seeds fell on Friday.
"It's really tough to do," Dukes coach Vince Doran said of the regional title streak. "Any time you win one, you've got to celebrate. Especially against Benet. They've owned us, so it's nice to finally get one."
York lost at home to No. 2 Benet (22-8) by the same 39-31 score on Dec. 13, but the loss came with leading scorer Jayvon Thomas out of the lineup. In Friday's rematch Thomas came up with a game-high 15 points. That's 3 points below the senior guard's average, but it was a geyser in a game like this.
Jack Julian's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave York an 18-17 lead. When Thomas converted a 3-point play to start the second half, the Dukes padded a lead they held the rest of the game.
"We just set the standards high," Thomas said. "We just kept looking to play and try to win another one."
Benet struggled all night shooting the ball, finishing 10 of 35 from the field including 4-of-19 3-point shooting. The Redwings were within 27-24 heading to the fourth quarter but made only 1 of 12 shots the rest of the game.
Even though York made only 6 of 13 fourth-quarter free throws, it was just enough to keep a two-possession margin for the final five minutes.
"It's a tough way to go out shooting like that but I give a lot of credit to York for that," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "It's obviously very disappointing tonight that our season's over. But if you look back on it back in November and said you'd win 22 games, I think that would say a lot for these kids. They have a lot to be proud of."
Colin Bonnett led Benet with 14 points while Dan Sobolewski added 9 points for the Redwings, last year's state runners-up who notched their sixth straight 20-win season.
"After last year even I wasn't sure what was in store for this year," said Bonnett, the lone returning starter entering the season. "To go out with a group of guys like this is tough. It's always hard to beat a good team twice, and we knew that. But this is something I'm going to miss."
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