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Benet overcomes shaky start

Benet coach Gene Heidkamp wasn't happy.

With 3:30 left in the first quarter of his team's 67-51 IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal win against Chicago Vocational on Tuesday, Heidkamp had seen enough of a shaky outset by his starters.

So he pulled them. All five, which elicited a buzz from the home crowd.

"I was frustrated, because I thought we had a little bit of first-game jitters, and I thought we were outside of ourselves on both ends of the floor," Heidkamp said. "I don't think we were defending with urgency, and offensively, we were frazzled.

"I thought it was good for them to get a few minutes on the bench, collect themselves, and come back focused. I think they answered the call in the second quarter."

Indeed they did. Senior Colin Crothers, and juniors Tyler Van Eekeren and Sam Hennessy - starters all - put together a 13-0 run, including three backdoor layups by Crothers and a 3-pointer by Hennessy.

That gave the Redwings (23-9) a seemingly comfortable 33-21 lead at the half.

But nobody was comfortable when Vocational stormed back in the third quarter, hitting four 3-pointers and fashioning a 9-2 run that tied the game 43-43 with 1:13 left. Benet senior Jack Prock untied it with a 3 from the left corner with 10 seconds left. But damage done.

The starters, though, proved their mettle early in the fourth quarter, putting together a 7-0 run the put the game away, and then an 8-2 run later that removed any doubt.

Whew.

"He pulled us because he thought we could be playing better than what we were in the beginning," said Crothers, who finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds. "We came out nervous, I think, came out a little soft, a little slow. We kind of regrouped at that time."

Added Van Eekeren, who had 19 points: "When he pulled us out, he told us to get re-energized, get our head in the game. We definitely had some pregame jitters. I think everyone did. But when we got out there, we definitely picked it up."

In place of the starters, Heidkamp got solid minutes from senior reserves like Sean Phelan, Jimmy Coffey and Colin Gillespie, and that was a good thing, especially against an opponent like Vocational (12-14), which Benet hadn't faced this season.

"Second quarter and fourth quarter were good quarters for us," Heidkamp said. "Third quarter was a struggle. We scored points, but we didn't get any stops. They took advantage of the opportunities they had."

Ultimately, what proved to be the difference was the constant pounding down low by Crothers and Van Eekeren and senior Matt Reid, who finished with 8 points and 4 boards. A steady diet of backdoor cuts and attacking the basket will do that.

"They were playing with high pressure the whole game, so setting them up and them trying to jump the pass, it was good plays by Tyler and Matt and Colin," Hennessy said.

The Redwings outrebounded Vocational 22-12, and Prock finished with 7 points and 3 rebounds.

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