Benet makes sure skid doesn't hit four
Three-game losing streaks are rare for Benet's boys basketball program.
Four-game skids are still unheard of.
The Redwings snapped a brief drought with Saturday's 66-56 victory over Naperville North in the When Sides Collide Shootout at Glenbard East in Lombard.
It was a long week for Benet (17-6) - two losses Monday at the Wheaton Warrenville South MLK Tournament and Friday's East Suburban Catholic Conference loss at Carmel - but it ended with an impressive victory over a Huskies team coming off their own impressive win over Waubonsie Valley on Friday.
"It's a really good win for us," said Benet guard Trevor Casmere, who scored 15 points as one of four Redwings players in double figures. "Obviously, we were struggling the last couple of games. After (Friday night), we were just saying, 'Tomorrow's a perfect opportunity to come back against a really great team,' and we did it down the stretch."
Loyola-bound Tom Welch, who had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, put the Huskies (12-9) ahead 46-42 at the start of the fourth quarter. He scored again to reclaim a 49-48 lead, and then tied it at 51 apiece on a putback with 5:19 left.
Benet grabbed control with a 10-2 run highlighted by 3s from Casmere and Will Engels, who had 18 points. The Redwings closed on a 10-3 run capped by Kendrick Tchoua's second dunk of the night.
"We knew this game was going to be a big one," said Tchoua, who led Benet with 20 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. "It was kind of just finding gaps and getting an easy play instead of forcing stuff. Just being in the right spots at the right time."
Naperville North rallied from a 7-point third-quarter deficit behind Welch and Riley Thompson, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the period. His fourth 3-pointer gave the Huskies a 44-42 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
"Benet played a great game," said Huskies coach Gene Nolan. "I thought their physicality hurt us a little bit. It's hard enough to stop a team like that to one contested shot and out, but shots would go up and we just couldn't finish a possession because they were so strong."
Colin Crothers had 10 points and 14 rebounds for Benet while Grant Johnson scored 9 points for Naperville North.
"Ironically, today's performance started last night," said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "We were down 17 points at halftime and came back and were down 2 with the ball with a minute left. We started to play much more confidently and more aggressively offensively last night in the second half. I think it carried over to today."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit