Jeff Conrad was on top of the world on Saturday night.
The Benet senior was also hanging jubilantly on one of the rims along with fellow seniors Dan Sobolewski and Sean Liszka after the Redwings disposed of Hoffman Estates, 56-49.
“I just love this team,” Conrad said. “I love being here on Fridays and Saturdays with my team. I’m sorry, I’m at a loss for words, but I just love basketball here.”
Benet (20-6) won its ninth straight game while Hoffman Estates (5-16) dropped its 10th straight. The Hawks haven’t won since Jan. 6 but they started strong and rallied late to make things more interesting then Benet wanted.
The Hawks jumped ahead 10-3 late in the first quarter, but the Redwings responded with a 15-0 run that culminated on a tip-in by Sobolewski with 6:25 left in the first half.
Sobolewski’s basket came after Colin Bonnett’s first missed 3-pointer of the night, as he made his first four, including three during the run. He would cool off considerably, shooting 0-for-7 on 3s the rest of the game, but would finish with a game-high 22 points. He also was a beast on the boards with 11.
“What are you going to do? You just got to keep shooting,” he said. “We came out with a bang and played a pretty good game, but we kind of dipped at the end.”
Hoffman Estates scored the first five points of the third quarter to pull within 26-22, but the Redwings answered with a 17-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 43-22.
It looked as if the game was pretty much sealed, but the Hawks opened the fourth quarter with an impressive 11-0 run to make it a 43-33 game. They just wouldn’t go away quietly. They made four 3-pointers in the final minute, but wouldn’t get any closer than six points.
“The fourth quarter didn’t go the way we wanted,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “They kept battling, and while we struggled shooting the ball, they got hot so the timing of such made things a lot closer.”
The Redwings shot 7-for-26 on 3-pointers while the Hawks were 10-for-20.
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“We relied too much on the 3 again,” Heidkamp said. “It can be our best friend or it can be our downfall depending on how we play. It just happened that we got a lot of open shots, but we didn’t shoot as well as we would’ve liked.”
Benet celebrated senior night and recognized its seven seniors and six of them scored. Conrad and Cameron Graves each contributed seven points.
“We get our ankles taped before every game and we were talking about how it was the last time doing that here,” Bonnett said. “Once we got into the locker room it really kind of set in.”
Rather than retreat immediately to the locker room after the game, the team hung around the gym, taking countless pictures and socializing with fellow students, friends and family.
“It’s been an unbelievable year that has went by so quickly,” Conrad said. “It’s been the best basketball season of my life. To be here on senior night in front of the student section and with my teammates was awesome.”
Chris R. Walker is a freelance writer.