New Benet, same old result
PONTIAC - Benet has had to assume a new identity this season.
"Our team is completely different from last year," Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said.
The Redwings had a first-day encounter with perennial boys basketball state power Peoria Manual on Thursday afternoon at the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament.
Benet squandered a near-game-long lead in the fourth quarter, but clutch field goals - as well as free-throw efficiency and an errant Manual 3-pointer at the buzzer - enabled the Redwings to escape with a 47-44 victory.
The Redwings (9-2) advanced to meet fourth-seeded Danville, which smoked Plainfield North 77-44, in the third quarterfinal on Friday evening.
"They are dynamite," Heidkamp said of Danville. "We're going to have to play our best game of the year to have a chance against them."
Will Engels and Dave Buh converted the critical field goals for Benet in the fourth quarter against the Rams on consecutive possessions.
Both players hit runners from inside the paint.
Engels' bucket gave Benet the lead for good at 41-40.
The similar field goal by Buh increased the Redwings' lead to 43-40.
"As of late, I know what to do to help the team win," said Engels, who missed one shot in finishing with 9 points. "Our year has been defined by our defense. We came together to get stops (in the fourth quarter)."
"I think we just tried to get the momentum back in the fourth quarter," added Buh, who matched Jake Petrovic for team-scoring honors with 13 points. "(Engels and I) just tried to get into the lane and get easy shots from there."
Benet extended its 24-18 halftime lead with an 8-4 beginning to the third quarter to take a double-digit advantage at 32-22.
"No lead is safe," Heidkamp said after Manual (3-6) stormed back to take its first lead since early in the opening quarter with a 17-5 run that ended early in the fourth.
"We were just playing Manual defense," said former program great Willie Coleman, in his first year as coach at his alma mater. "We started getting turnovers and fought our way back into the game."
It was a one-possession Benet lead when Buh hit 3 of 4 free throws on consecutive trips at the line to give the Redwings a 46-42 lead with 10 seconds to play.
Quincy Broadway, who led the Rams with 12 points, halved the deficit with a slashing drive.
The Redwings' Jake Ronneberg gave Manual hope with a missed free throw with 3.8 remaining, but Quintez Edwards' 24-footer at the buzzer to force overtime bounced innocuously off the back rim.