Benet sophomore guard Jayden Wright knew he had a tough assignment Friday night.
Seven seconds remained in the Class 4A Oswego East Regional final, and the Redwings were clinging to a three-point lead against the host Wolves.
Wyoming recruit Jehvion Starwood got the ball and dribbled at Wright. What was going through Wright’s mind?
“A lot,” Wright said. “Jehvion is a great player. We had a big focus on him. We knew that if we had a chance to win, we needed to hold him down.”
Easier said than done, but Wright had outplayed Starwood for most of the game, so he was calm, knowing the Wolves needed a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Wright had a strategy.
“I’ve had experience with fouling 3-point shooters late in a game, so I just tried to make it as tough as possible on him and don’t foul him,” Wright said. “If he makes a tough shot, just shake his hand.”
But Starwood didn’t make a tough shot. The senior guard didn’t even take one. Wright forced him to give up the ball, which got deflected and ended up in the hands of Benet senior guard Patrick Walsh as time expired, giving the fourth-seeded Redwings a 57-54 victory.
Benet (27-6) advances to play top-seeded Bolingbrook (26-4) in the East Aurora Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Fifth-seeded Oswego East (21-11) was left to wonder what might have been.
“Man, that No. 3 (Wright) is really good, huh?” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez said. “For a sophomore too.
“Credit to Benet. Their pressure got into us. We had something drawn up, but we just couldn’t get to our spots. That’s tough.”
Wright was as tough as nails, and not merely on defense. He poured in a game-high 21 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Wright scored 13 consecutive points in the first quarter and then fed sophomore guard Gabriel Sularski for a buzzer-beater to give Benet a 15-6 lead. Wright finished the first half with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, making four 3-pointers, including two from NBA range.
“We knew we needed to extend out on him more,” Velasquez said. “We didn’t do that in the first. Did a much better job in the second half.”
Indeed, Wright attempted just three shots after halftime, although 6-foot-8 junior forward Daniel Pauliukonis picked up the slack by hitting a trio of 3-pointers as Benet extended the lead to 47-34.
Pauliukonis made 4 of 5 shots, all from beyond the arc, and finished with 12 points.
“I was always like a shooter, and coach encourages me,” he said. “He gives me the green light to shoot, so I just played my game, shot it, and they went in.”
Starwood, who was in early foul trouble, didn’t make any shots in the first half. But he scored all nine of his points after halftime to rally the Wolves, who got 14 points from senior guard Noah Mason, 13 points from senior forward Andrew Wiggins and 12 points from sophomore guard Mason Lockett.
Wiggins’ 3-point play pulled Oswego East within 55-54 with 25.2 seconds left. But Wright hit two free throws with 22.4 seconds remaining and then made the decisive stop.
“On that play, it wasn’t just me,” Wright said. “We got in our gaps and help defense. It was a great team effort.”
Benet coach Gene Heidkamp agreed the Redwings won with a complete team effort. But Wright’s savvy clinched it.
“On the last possession, Jayden was very patient defensively, his teammates were in the right positions and eventually it went his way,” Heidkamp said. “That was Jayden’s best play of the game.
“People will look at his shooting and his points. His defense on Starwood is what gave us a chance.”
Instead of Starwood hitting a buzzer-beater, Wright actually did when he made a fall-away 17-foot jumper at the end of the first half. He ended up on his back as Benet took a 29-24 lead.
“I really don’t know how I made that one,” Wright said. “I was just trying to take what the defense gives me. I give a lot of credit to my teammates for finding me and getting me open, and I was able to knock them down.”
He did it in front of a packed gym in a matchup worthy of a sectional final.
“This is why I play,” Wright said. “It’s a great atmosphere, and I had a lot of fun competing against them and the hostile environment.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
