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Balanced Benet cruises to victory against Timothy Christian

Balance.

That's likely going to be the buzzword for the 2018-19 edition of Benet boys basketball, and it was on display Wednesday in a 63-25 win over host Timothy Christian.

The Redwings' Big Three - senior forwards Will Engels and Kendrick Tchoua and junior center Colin Crothers - all were within striking distance of double-doubles. Tchoua got the closest with 9 points and 10 rebounds, but Engels and Crothers weren't too shabby either.

Benet (4-0) also got 24 points off the bench, led by senior guard Bennett Hickey with 8 points.

"These guys are unselfish kids, so I feel good about that," Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. "When we play in these big games coming up, that's really going to show through. It's shown through so far in the four games.

"We've got to shore up our defense and cut down on our turnovers. If we can do those two things, we have enough offensive firepower to have a very good team."

It looked that way Wednesday. The Redwings used a 9-2 run by Tchoua and Crothers coming out the gate to take a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

A 12-3 second-quarter spurt put the game out of reach for the sturdy Trojans (3-2), who were co-led in scoring by junior guards Matt Owens and Jack Baldridge, each with 8.

"I think the biggest thing for us, when you play really good teams, it's about how you play together as a group," said Timothy Christian coach Scott Plaisier. "When you play a team like Benet, they are so good offensively and so good defensively that if you don't play all five guys on the same rhythm, a game like that is going to happen."

But perhaps the biggest emerging revelation for Benet, and maybe the area, is Tchoua, who transferred in from Maryland. His considerable size complements that of Crothers and Engels.

He's already fitting in.

"I love it - it's great," Tchoua said. "We play a lot of defense, we work on that all the time in practice. Obviously, tomorrow we have to get ready for St. Charles East. It's going to be huge game for us."

"Offensively, it's great to have both of them, they're both good in the post and pass out," Engels said of Tchoua and Crothers. "It's just good for our team because we have good shooters on the perimeter and guys in the paint, so it's a complete team. We've just got to put it all together."

Across the court Owens agreed with Plaisier that plenty can be taken from Wednesday and applied to the future, beginning with the Trojans' next game, at home against Ridgewood on Friday.

"It's definitely a learning experience," he said. "Coach always wants us to take away something from the games, so really we took away how to box out, and basically the fundamentals we need to work on. It's definitely a humbling experience."

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