Benet Academy boys hoops take on the 8-0 Wheaton Academy Warriors on Thursday night. Benet enters 7-1 and off a 13-point victory against Hyde Park on Sunday. Wheaton is coming off a 14-point win over Chicago Hope back on Friday. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Blake Fagbemi and Daniel Pauliukonis help give Benet an early lead
Wheaton’s Tyler Smith starts it off by pacing back and shooting forward on the right side, absorbing the contact for the and-one which he converts at the line.
Now on the other end, Blake Fagbemi shows some flashy handles to get away from Jake Weston before dishing it off to Colin Stack who brings it home.
On the ensuing possession, Fagbemi does it himself across the left side, drawing a whistle and connecting at the stripe.
After another defensive stop, Mac Doyle finds Daniel Pauliukonis down low with a nice baseline Pass.
Already starting to run away with things, Pauliukonis charges inside and misses but grabs his own rebound and a nice putback extends the Redwing lead to 10.
Jayden Wright rounds out the first quarter with this nice steal before connecting with Fagbemi for the bucket. After eight minutes, Benet leads 19-8.
Redwings keep on piling it on against the Warriors
The Warriors try to claw back into it with Smith leading the charge early in the second. A smooth spin move through two defenders leads to an easy bucket.
The next time down the court, they keep feeding him. The pullup jumper from the elbow is true. Fagbemi however has seen enough, denying the next shot from Smith with a forceful block.
Adding to their lead, Benet finds Doyle who gets the layup and the whistle where he’d net the free throw.
A few possessions later, Pauliukonis laces the catch-and-shoot three on the left wing to make it 27-12 with two minutes until halftime.
Back on offense, it’s deja vu for Doyle who again drives inside and draws contact, completing the and-one.
Ten seconds until halftime, Benet draws up the three-ball look for Pauliukonis who swirls it from the right wing to go up 38-17 at the break.
Benet Academy boys hoops dominate against Wheaton Academy
Into the third, the Warriors’ Sam Thomas responds with a three of his own after a good pass from Griffin Schlenbecker.
The crowd gets up for this one, and so does Stack who delivers it through with a forceful slam after a solid feed from Wright.
On the other end, he shifts his feet and rejects Hayden Schroeder’s offering, forcing the Turnover.
Rounding out the third, Aidan Renicker is all chords with his first bucket of the contest. One quarter remaining, the Redwings are up big, 56 to 25.
Renicker leads the reserves with another three early in the fourth to put the cherry on top before solid defense down the stretch easily locks up the win for Benet.
The Redwings move to 8-1 after a statement 64-39 win, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season. Benet is back in action against Antioch at home on Saturday afternoon.
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