Boys Basketball: No buzzer-beater necessary as Benet rolls into state tourney

DeKALB – It took a game-winning shot at the buzzer for Benet to reach the Class 4A NIU Supersectional game against Rockford Auburn.

The Redwings were well on their way to earning their first trip to state since 2016 by the halftime buzzer Monday as they overwhelmed the Knights by dominating the glass in a 67-33 victory.

Benet (34-1) advanced to Friday afternoon’s state semifinal against New Trier at 2:30 p.m. at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

“That was a big emphasis coming into the game,” Benet senior Brady Kunka said of rebounding. “We knew we had a little bit of a size advantage on them. They’re a very talented team, so we were able to force them to one shot and to take tough shots and we were able to then finish the possession on the defensive end and that’s when we’re at our strength, finishing possessions.”

The Redwings had 27 more rebounds than the Knights and scored 16 second-chance points while allowing zero.

“I knew it was a lot to a little,” Rockford Auburn coach Bryan Ott said. “42 to 15. That was like the score was like at one point almost (40-15 with 6:06 left in the third quarter). We talked about the physicality of Benet, and we hadn’t seen them, but we had enough game film. They’re extremely well coached and do all the little things right with screening, boxing out and crashing boards and they attacked some of our deficiencies.”

Benet led only 11-9 early in the second quarter, but a 13-0 run culminating with Kunka’s putback with 2:52 left in the first half made it a 24-10 lead. A gorgeous alley-oop from Kunka to Niko Abusara in the final minute gave the Redwings a 30-15 lead at the break.

Rockford Auburn (23-13) saw any hopes for a rally dissipate after Benet opened the third quarter by scoring the first 10 points to extend its lead to 40-17.

“We told ourselves to not slow down,” Abusara said. “We still had one more half and they were still hungry because it was their last game. We just wanted to keep the pace going, keep the momentum going and keep scoring and rebounding.”

Kunka and Brayden Fagbemi led the Redwings with 16 points and Abusara had 12 points. Abusara and Kunka had seven rebounds each while Fagbemi led the way with nine rebounds along with seven assists. Sam Driscoll added nine points and five rebounds.

“You can look at the stats and these guys had big games, but on Friday it might be somebody else,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “That’s the thing about having what we have on our team is that these guys are really good at taking what the defense gives, and I think that they’re unselfish and committed and these guys have sacrificed all year.”