Benet Academy, Illinois boys basketball team defeats Naperville North after scoring crucial three-pointer

December 12, 2009

The Benet Academy Redwings' varsity boys basketball team defeated Naperville North High School Tuesday night after scoring a tie-breaking three-point goal at the buzzer.

Both teams from DuPage County, Illinois, United States, entered the game held at Naperville North undefeated, having won tournament titles during the Thanksgiving holiday and conference openers. Benet defeated St. Patrick High School 41–27 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference opener last week. The Redwings and the Huskies faced each other last year as well in the postseason regional opening round game, with the former defeating the latter.

The two teams played evenly in the first quarter, but Naperville North's reserves achieved an 11–0 run starting at the end of the first quarter. Benet did not score any goals in the second quarter, leaving it with a 15–27 loss at halftime. The Redwings, however, began to recover in the third quarter with only eight turnovers and a 22–17 rebounding deficit, but they still lagged behind with a score of 27–37 at the end of the third quarter. The team ultimately rebounded in the fourth quarter when senior forward Dylan Flood scored five consecutive three-point goals.

With only 8.1 seconds left in the game and a tie of 42–42, Benet had possession of the ball and called a timeout. Naperville North fouled twice and also called a timeout with 3.4 seconds left. Junior guard Dave Sobolewski received a pass from Flood and scored a three-point goal at the buzzer, leading Benet to victory as fans stormed the court. "I was lucky enough to hit it," said Sobolewski.

Due to the victory, Benet earned a record of 5–0, while that of Naperville North was 5–1. Benet will continue to play several away games over the next few weeks and into the Christmas and New Year holiday, with only one of its first thirteen games being a home game. The home game will be played against Marian Catholic High School on Saturday night. One school Benet surely will not be playing against this year, however, is St. Francis High School. In an address to the student body last year, Principal Stephen Marth ended the long-lasting rivalry with St. Francis, citing concerns about student misconduct during the game held between the two schools on February 14, 2009. Benet and St. Francis are not in the same conference.