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Benet clinches sixth straight 20-win season

The Benet boys basketball team reached a big milestone on its senior night when it defeated Hoffman Estates 56-49 on Saturday. However, the Hawks wouldn't allow the ink to dry on that milestone until very late in the game.

The victory, in the regular-season home finale, gave the Redwings (20-6) its sixth straight 20-win season. For Benet, expectations have always been high. But that wasn't necessarily the case off campus.

"I couldn't be happier to end (the home) season like this," said senior Colin Bonnett, who led the Redwings with a game-high 22 points including four 3-point baskets and 10 rebounds. "And it comes in a year when people didn't expect us to have a big season."

It was a contest of scoring spurts and the Hawks (5-17) put one together to start the final quarter. They outscored the Redwings 27-13 for the period. When Benet called a timeout with 4:27 remaining in the game, Hoffman Estates was on an 11-0 scoring run to cut the Redwings' lead to 44-33. Benet finally hit net 27 seconds later on Bonnett's two free throws.

Hoffman Estates junior Jorden Thornton, who led his team with 18 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, hit two 3-pointers with less than a minute left with teammate Brandon Hall sinking one to help guarantee the final score was decided by single digits. Hall finished with 13 points.

Hawks coach Luke Yanule said Thornton has been strong in the fourth quarter this season and a scoring performance like his was crucial. He added, however, that Thornton has become a more versatile player as time has gone on.

"He's really matured as a player. I don't mean selfish. He tried to do too much," Yanule said. "And to be honest, his ability to be a playmaker is even more important."

Thornton's short jumper with 2:32 left in the opening quarter gave the Hawks a 10-3 advantage before Benet closed out the opening period on a 10-0 run.

The Redwings enjoyed a 13-3 scoring streak that took most of the second quarter, and the team led 26-17 at halftime.

"It was a game of spurts. We played well enough the first three quarters to have a cushion," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "I would have liked to have played better defense, but the Hoffman Estates offense was good."

Jeff Conrad and Cameron Graves were next on the Benet stat sheet with 7 points each.

As for Hoffman Estates, it was the team's 10th loss by 7 points or less.

"Consistency and maturity have been a factor all year. But they have matured and gotten better. And we have not played a cupcake schedule. I'm proud of our effort. They have never quit," Yanule said.

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