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Sobolewski's big shot lifts Benet at St. Viator

Benet Academy's Dan Sobolewski never lost his confidence.

Despite several airballs in the third quarter and 2 missed free throws with the game tied at 30, the senior forward never lost his composure, either.

With his team trailing 39-37 at St. Viator's Cahill Gymnasium, Sobolewski drained a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to lift the Redwings to a 40-39 win in East Suburban Catholic Conference play.

"I didn't have a great second half of this game," said Sobolewski. "When (James) Dockery grabbed the missed free throw rebound with :14 left, he and I made eye contact. He drove with the ball and made a great pass to me, and I was open. I knew the team had confidence in me to hit the shot. The confidence never wavered."

"Dan has been through these battles for three seasons," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp, who saw his team improve to 17-3 overall and 3-1 in the league. "There was never any doubt in my mind that he could make the basket."

Sobolewski finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the nip and tuck battle with the Lions.

Dockery scored 7 points, and his 3 with 3:36 left tied the score at 33 before the Lions went on a 6-0 run.

St. Viator (12-4, 2-1) led 39-33 with 1:07 left on Danny Walsh's basket. Walsh missed the free throw on a potential 3-point play.

Jason Malonga (11 points, 4 rebounds) scored on a reverse layup with :51 left to make it 39-35.

The Lions missed the front end of a one-and-bonus with :27 left.

Sobolewski found an easy path to the basket for a layup with :18, pulling the Redwings within 39-37.

"We played great defense for 31 minutes," said St. Viator coach Quin Hayes. "We stopped everything we did to get us into the position we were in to win the game. The defense broke down and we missed three free throws. We make our free throws, and we win."

St. Viator led 12-10 after one quarter and 18-17 at the halftime break. Kevin Murphy scored 7 of his 10 points in the first quarter and Jake Stepuszek, who led the Lions with 11, scored 5 points in the quarter.

"This was a battle," said Sobolewski. "We weren't prepared early when they opened a 9-4 lead on us to start the game. But we battled down the stretch when it mattered. This was a big win."

Heidkamp saw the win as a typical ESCC game.

"There is so much parity in the conference," said Heidkamp. "It's going to go down to the last game. You look at the schedule and there's no breathers.

"St. Viator was really tough on us. Their defense took away a lot of what we tried to do. We were fortunate to get this win. Scoring tonight was a challenge for both teams."

Benet shot 16 of 40, to the Lions' 16 of 41. The Redwings won the battle of the boards 27-25.

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