Marist’s Darshan Thomas remembers the game vividly.
In December, the senior forward had a chance to sink the winning basket against Benet in Lisle.
He missed. And that’s not all.
“I missed that shot, I didn’t go for the rebound, and we ended up losing by one,” Thomas said. “I never forgot about it. When I heard the name ‘Benet,’ I always thought of that shot.”
His hearing has improved.
Thomas took another potential winning shot Friday night — a 3-pointer right in front of Marist’s bench — but it missed the mark again.
This time, though, he snagged the rebound and sank a 10-footer with 1.3 seconds left to give the RedHawks a 65-64 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory in Mount Greenwood.
Stephen Brown led Marist (21-4, 9-2) with 20 points, followed by TJ Tate with 14, Adoni Vassilakis with 12, Marquis Vance with 11 and Thomas with nine.
Benet (20-4, 10-1), which came in ranked No. 5 in the state by The Associated Press in Class 4A, was paced by sophomore guard Gabe Sularski with 26 points. Daniel Pauliukonis added 13.
For Thomas, it was a 180-degree turnaround from the 62-61 setback on Dec. 15 at Benet.
“When I missed this shot, instead of pouting, I went after it and said, ‘not again,’” Thomas said. “I could have done two things — fade back and sit in the chairs and watch my shot miss or I could be like, ‘All right, this is coming off and I’m going to go get it and take my second chance.’”
“I’m so happy for him, man,” Tate said. “He was waiting for this one. When he missed and got the ball again, I knew it was going in.”
Marist coach Brian Hynes also was happy Thomas could make up for the first game in such a dramatic fashion. After the final buzzer, the RedHawks’ fans stormed the court.
“The first time we played Benet, he took it on himself that he lost the game and he was a wreck,” Hynes said of Thomas. “I think it showed a lot of guts that he wanted the ball at the end.”
Thomas even brought up his missed shot before Friday’s game.
“Coach Hynes had me give a pregame speech,” he said. “I started my speech talking about that shot and I said, ‘I don’t ever want to feel like that again.’
“I had to give it my all. Even if I was scoreless the entire game, I still have to be there for my teammates.’’
Thomas was scoreless in the first half as his shots were off. He missed a pair of free throws in the closing minutes as well.
But he made the shot that counted. And he wasn’t 100% satisfied with his performance.
“I’ll obviously remember the winning shot,” Thomas said. “But those missed shots are something I have to improve on or we wouldn’t have been in that situation.”
That’s two classic games this season between the conference rivals. And it’s only the beginning if the players from both teams stay put in the next couple years.
Marist has six sophomores and four juniors on its roster. Benet has four sophomores and eight juniors. Some of the major players on both sides are underclassmen.
“I saw Gabe and I told him after the game, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t think I can do this for two more years with you,’’’ Hynes said. “They are so talented. I wish they would all graduate.”
Thomas will be graduating after this season, but after what he saw Friday night, he’s full of confidence for Marist’s future.
“This name is not going to be forgotten for a while,” Thomas said. “They are going to be the best team in the state. I personally think we are right now.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
