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No debating seeds at Lisle

Many times there is debate as to which team deserves a No. 1 playoff seed. That is not the case at this year's Class 2A Lisle boys basketball regional.

"I think St. Edward and Aurora Christian are the clear 1 and 2," said Mark LaScala, whose fifth-seeded Lions (10-14) start regional play Monday against No. 4 Chicago Christian (13-12). No. 3 IC Catholic Prep (13-12) follows in Monday's regional quarterfinal nightcap against No. 6 Westmont (8-17).

"After Nos. 1-2 I think anybody could beat anybody on a given night," LaScala said. "If the Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are going to want to get to the finals they're going to have to upset somebody, and I think Ed's and Aurora Christian have more talent than the other teams."

Pat McNamara, coach of second-seeded Aurora Christian (19-6), agreed.

"St. Edward, I think they're the team to beat," said McNamara, whose Eagles play a Tuesday regional semifinal nightcap against the ICCP-Westmont winner. St. Edward (21-5) opens Tuesday against the Chicago Christian-Lisle winner.

The regional final is at 7 p.m. Feb. 27, advancing a team into the El Paso-Gridley sectional, in the Class 2A Northern Illinois University supersectional.

"St. Edward, I think, is a very flexible team," McNamara said. "In that first game" - literally Aurora Christian's first game of the year, a 73-62 St. Edward win - "we tried to pressure full court, and they've got three guards (Joe French, Gino Domel, Kelvin Cortez-Harvey) who can handle the ball pretty good. They're a smart team, well coached, do a good job getting the ball in to (forward Nick) Duffy, and they go inside-out."

A 6-foot-4 senior, Duffy surpassed 1,000 varsity points Tuesday as the Green Wave lost 74-62 to Riverside-Brookfield, a 22-win Class 4A team. He's been a key on three straight 20-game winners.

"They've got multiple weapons and they change defenses a lot to keep you off balance. They know how to win," said LaScala, whose own team has won four of its last five games behind gritty guards Mark McGrath and Ryan Gillen and 3-point bomber Nick Massura.

Ask IC Catholic coach T.J. Tyrrell if St. Edward knows how to win. The Knights are 0-3 against the top seed.

"We're due," said Tyrrell, whose team withstood star Rhashaun Epting's mid-January transfer to Proviso West but has arguably played better basketball around the trio of juniors Will Lyles and Troy Burrows and sophomore Jordan Rowell.

ICCP has gotten increasingly closer against the Green Wave, including a 61-57 overtime loss on Feb. 4. If it's hard to beat a team three times in a season, it's got to be really hard to beat a team four times.

"That's what we're banking on," Tyrrell said. "Each game has been more competitive. We want to see them in a regional championship."

20-20 vision:

When Benet swept last weekend's games against Nazareth and Hoffman Estates, it marked another program milestone and the official continuation of an amazing era.

The Redwings improved to 20-6 overall, giving them their sixth straight 20-win season. Two more victories and they'll have 150 over the last six years.

"It means a lot to the kids to keep that streak going," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "I'm proud of the kids. I don't think the expectations were there at the beginning of the season for them to accomplish what they have."

The era began with Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky, considered one of the nation's top college players, and Northwestern guard Dave Sobolewski. It continued through Pat McInerney, a baseball player at Illinois, and Sean O'Mara, a Xavier freshman who last season led Benet to a second-place finish in Class 4A.

Colin Bonnett was the lone returning starter heading into this season, and junior Dan Sobolewski was the only other player with significant varsity experience. Together they've led the Redwings into position to vie for the No. 1 seed in the 4A East Aurora sectional.

In the East Suburban Catholic Conference race, though, Benet needs some help. With two games to play against Marian Central and Carmel, the Redwings (6-1) are a game behind Notre Dame (7-0) atop the standings.

Regardless, it's been a surprising run for the Redwings.

"Winning the conference would be nice, but we don't control how that'll play out," Heidkamp said. "Hopefully, we can get another win or two before the tournament starts."

Good and better news:

Hinsdale Central senior Matt Rafferty ended a long recruiting process by verbally committing to Furman University in South Carolina.

The 6-foot-7 senior, a third-year starter who had many other scholarship offers, committed after a quick trip to the Greenville campus last weekend.

"He really felt a connection with Furman," said Red Devils coach Nick Latorre. "He got to hang out with the players and he really liked it. I'm just really happy for him."

It was good news in the midst of a tough month for one of DuPage County's most-talented players. Rafferty was averaging 20.8 points and 9.6 rebounds before breaking his hand in a Jan. 23 victory over York.

Rafferty had surgery to repair the hand a couple weeks ago. While Hinsdale Central beat state-ranked St. Joseph without him the day after the injury, the Red Devils then lost four straight leading up to Tuesday's West Suburban Silver game victory over Downers Grove North.

The Red Devils lost by only 4 points to Oak Park without Rafferty and second-leading scorer George Kiernan. They shot 14 of 50 from the field against Lyons Twp. and made only 8 of 24 free throws against Proviso West.

Rafferty no doubt would have made a difference in each of those games, and he might be a difference-maker again in the next few weeks. According to Latorre, Rafferty is working hard at rehabbing the hand and could return before the season ends.

If Rafferty does come back, it'd change the entire face of the Class 4A East Aurora sectional. Even with the recent losing streak the Red Devils (18-6) remain in play for a top-four seed.

"He's rehabbing and starting to do some things," Latorre said. "If there's a way he can get back out there, he'll find it."

Up and up:

Glenbard South (12-11, 7-2 Metro Suburban West) expected the early part of its schedule to be difficult to navigate.

What the Raiders didn't expect, though, was the massive surge they've seen the second half of the season. From a low point of 3-9 at the start of January, they've recovered to finally make it above the .500 mark.

Glenbard South's eight-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday with a 2-point loss at Rolling Meadows, but the Raiders made it nine out of 10 with Tuesday's MSC victory over IC Catholic Prep.

"Our schedule was pretty top-heavy with tough teams, and I just kept telling the kids that in the long run those games are going to make us better," said Raiders coach Wade Hardtke. "I think it's probably a lot of things that have turned it around for us."

For one thing, a team brimming with inexperience at the start of the season is now accustomed to the rigors of varsity play. And it's a balanced group. While Billy Bair leads the Raiders with about 12 points a game, four other players average between 7 and 9 points.

The Raiders have overcome injuries to Tim Marks, Jonny Gutierrez and others, and they've taken advantage of a stretch of schedule that's seen them play eight of their last 11 games at home.

The combination of numerous factors spurred the turnaround. Hardtke hopes it extends into Class 3A Rochelle sectional play at the IMSA regional.

"We've been playing well for the most part," Hardtke said. "I think we can be pretty competitive in the playoffs."

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