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player ready...The faces are always changing, but the boys basketball rivalry remains the same for Benet and Marian Catholic.
While Marian grad Tyler Ulis is starting for Kentucky and Benet product Sean O’Mara is contributing off the bench for Xavier — a pair of nationally ranked college teams — the East Suburban Catholic powers renewed their tug-of-war Friday night in Chicago Heights.
It was more of the same.
Brandon Hurt scored 14 points as Marian defeated Benet 53-51 in double overtime. It was the third time in as many seasons the programs went to overtime. Their last four meetings have been decided by a total of 12 points.
“We knew it would go down to the wire,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “We competed well enough to win the game, but we just didn’t close it out.”
Benet led the Spartans (7-2, 2-0) by five points with 59 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Redwings (7-1, 1-1) fouled Sean Taylor on a pair of 3-point attempts. Taylor sank 5-of-6 free throws to force overtime.
Jason Malonga scored a game-high 18 points for Benet, including five in the second overtime, but it wasn’t enough against the size and speed of Marian.
“Beginning two months ago, nobody thought we’d come in and have a chance to beat Marian on their home floor,” Malonga said. “Even though we lost, we can take a lot from this. We can compete with anyone we play.”
Daniel Sobolewski added 12 points and six rebounds for Benet, and Jack Nolan had 10 points.
The Redwings looked like they might fall in the first overtime, but a steal and layup from Nolan tacked on another four minutes.
Hurt scored six of his team-high 14 points in the second overtime to put the game away.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but that was a really good high school basketball game,” Heidkamp said. “There’s going to be a lot of tired kids.”
Austin Richie added nine points and TeeAaron Powell eight for Marian.
Malonga drilled a 3-pointer to pull Benet within one point late in the second overtime, but Marian was able to play keep away and went 8-for-11 from the free-throw line after regulation.
Malonga said this loss is something Benet will learn from as it moves forward.
“They have all these big-time players, and when they hear Benet this year, they really don’t expect much because we don’t have any (major) college players on our team,” Malonga said. “Us as a team, we know how good we are and that we can compete with anyone.”
Marian coach Mike Taylor and Malonga credited Benet’s coaching staff for keeping the fast-paced Spartans from speeding up the game.
“They played great defense,” Taylor said. “They pack it in. They don’t give you any driving lanes. They did a great job against our bigs. … We couldn’t speed the game up.”
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.