Hinsdale South tops Metea Valley at York tournament
Once again, it was simply too much Barret Benson.
Hinsdale South's 6-foot-10 senior center, committed to Northwestern, scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Hornets into the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic semifinals with Tuesday's 63-50 win over Metea Valley in Elmhurst.
Hinsdale South faces Naperville North at 8 p.m. Wednesday with a berth in the title game at stake.
After a quiet third quarter Benson scored 13 fourth-quarter points as Hinsdale South (9-2) pulled away from the Mustangs (5-6). The burst featured two dunks, including a spectacular one in transition where Diamond Anderson bounced the ball off the backboard for Benson's two-handed finish.
A 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter turned a 1-point advantage into a 53-43 lead. As much as Benson dominated against multiple defenses - and multiple bodies - the Hornets also got key fourth-quarter baskets from Sean McCormack, Brian Kern and Martynas Matevicius to seal the win.
"It was tough," said Benson, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. "They're a good team. so we struggled a little bit. It was close most of the game, but we just kept playing hard on defense and tried to impose our will on offense. It just worked out for us in the end."
Metea Valley stayed close despite Benson, using an 8-0 third-quarter run to take a 31-28 lead. Jeremy Hunter had a putback and Tristan Schlosser knocked down a 3-pointer.
The lead changed hands four times in the third quarter before Hinsdale South took the lead for good on a Matevicius 3-pointer and a Kern bucket.
"Our guys fought as much as they could," said Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza. "(Benson's) a great player and he got his, but I was happy with out fight. We kept after it all game."
Schlosser scored 10 points while Hunter had 10 points and 12 boards. Kern scored 12 points for the Hornets with McCormack grabbing 10 rebounds.
"(Benson's) always been good, but he's taken it to another level this year," said Hornets coach Brett Moore. "We saw a little bit of everything tonight (defensively against Benson). I don't want to know what it's like defending the post without a big guy like him."