Colin Bonnett always believed that Benet would have another great season.
When asked during the summer about the unfamiliar names on the roster, and reminded that he would be the only returning starter, Bonnett replied, “Obviously a lot of people don’t think we’ll be as good. It’s fun proving people wrong, and I think we’ll be pretty good.”
After beating Hoffman Estates 56-49 during Senior Night on Saturday, Bonnett and the Redwings (20-6) proved they were very good for the 20th time this season.
“We’ve been told by other people that we’re not going to be as good as we were last year or two or three years ago,” he said. “It’s kind of the same old story now. You can tell us whatever you want. We know who’s in our locker room and know how we’re going to play, and I knew we were going to be good.”
Outsiders may have known about Bonnett and Danny Sobolewski, but likely weren’t familiar with seniors Jeff Conrad, Sean Gerken, Cameron Graves, Sean Liszka and Pat Ramatowski, and juniors James Dockery and Jason Malonga. But they should be now.
“It’s a great accomplishment (to win 20) and I’m really happy for our guys,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “I think it shows that they’ve had a nice year and hopefully (Saturday’s win) is not our last win. It’s pretty special, especially for these guys considering what we lost from last year, and we were relatively inexperienced coming in.”
Tux finds touch
Naperville North senior Zach Tuxhorn buried five 3-pointers on Friday night as the Huskies cruised past Wheaton Warrenville South 81-60.
He followed up that 20-point performance by tallying nine points, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in a 54-44 win over Fremd in Sunday’s Conference Challenge at Northside Prep.
“This weekend was definitely a big step for me with my shooting,” he said. “I got my elevation on my shot and I think my teammates fed me more.”
Tuxhorn is one of the team’s three captains, along with fellow seniors Brian Dalton and Baylor Griffin.
“He just hasn’t been hitting it that often, but once he hit a couple that made a huge difference because it opens us up for other things,” Huskies coach Jeff Powers said. “That’s been key to us getting back, I think, and Brian Dalton’s come up big off the bench.”
Three-point shooting could really open things up for Jelani McClain, Cam Hardy, Mitch Lewis and others.
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“We’ve had some scoring droughts this year,” Tuxhorn admitted. “So if Cam and I can hit some threes that can open things up for guys to drive the lane.”
Seeds
The Class 4A seeds will be announced on Friday. Neuqua Valley will be sent to the Bolingbrook Sectional while the area’s five remaining teams will play in the East Aurora Sectional, including Benet, which is vying for a top seed.
Chris R. Walker is a freelancer writer.