Benet Academy boys basketball begins its 4A state title defense in the regional semifinals against Romeoville. The Spartans defeated Plainfield South by one point in the quarterfinals and are led by Jamarri Fears, younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears and Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. The Redwings have not lost since November and want to start the postseason on the right foot. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Benet jumps out to an early advantage
In the opening minutes, senior Redwing point guard Jayden Wright gets the ball in transition and buries the three. Benet sprints out to an 8-0 lead.
Romeoville gets on the board, swinging a pass to sophomore Deon Grant, who sinks the three to keep pace.
Benet uses its significant size advantage to battle the zone defense utilized by the Spartans. Seven-footer Colin Stack gets the pass in the paint and finds power forward Ed Stasys under the basket for the hoop and the harm.
Later in the quarter, Stack facilitates again from the middle of the zone, finding Ethan MacDermot for his second three of the opening quarter as Benet leads 14-5.
Stack and Stasys take advantage in the middle
Near the end of the first, Wright pump fakes and drives, before lobbing an alley-oop to Stasys, who slams it home for two.
In the final seconds of the quarter, Ryan Walsh grabs a rebound and passes off to Wright, who launches a pass to Stack running the floor and slamming home the dunk to beat the buzzer. Benet leads 20-10 after one.
Early in the second, MacDermot drops a pass off to Stack, who rebounds his own miss to expand the lead.
The Spartans keep battling. Sammy Conticello gets a pass from Fears and sinks the three. Romeoville trails 31-18 at the break.
Early in the second half, Romeoville gets a bit closer as Kayden Ellis gets the offensive rebound putback to pull the Spartans within ten.
Benet’s size continues to be the story. Stack gets the block, allowing Jayden Wright to throw a pass ahead to Stasys, who slams home the breakaway.
Fears brings the Spartans closer
In the fourth quarter, Jamarri Fears makes his presence felt as he buries the pull-up three to bring Romeoville within 12 with over six minutes to play.
The Redwings go back to the Wright-Stasys connection for another lob dunk at the rim. 15 points in the game for Stasys as Benet looks to pull away.
But the Spartans keep coming. Ellis whips a pass to Deon Grant, who sinks the three and draws the foul to give his team some hope.
After a missed three from Benet, Fears then taps the loose ball ahead and drives for the acrobatic layup. The Spartans trail just 43-33 with just under four minutes remaining.
The Redwings close the door and advance to the regional championship
Benet needs a play to stop the Spartan charge, and Perry Tchiegne Wandji delivers with a driving layup, plus the foul to go up by 13.
In the final minute, the Wings look to run out the clock. They work the ball around to Stack, who slams home the dagger with his 15th point of the night. Benet moves on by a 52-36 score after a tough challenge from Romeoville. West Aurora awaits in the regional title game.
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