Extra Points: Hinsdale South's Benson Takes Over

FRANKLIN PARK--After notching a 55-53 victory over Leyden Saturday night, the Hinsdale South boys basketball team made it four wins in five games.

The Hornets outrebounded Leyden 31-19, netted 8-of-14 shots from three-point range and staved off the Eagles in the waning moments.

Hinsdale South improved to 15-7. Hornets coach Vince Doran was happy with the stellar effort his team has displayed.

"Leyden is a dangerous team," Doran said. "You never feel like it's over against them. Once we got hot, we got more comfortable against their defense. Brock (Benson) did a phenomenal job on the boards."

While the Hornets were raining down three-point shots, Benson was receiving all the attention with double-team defense. The 6-8 junior center finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

“The game plan was to get the ball inside,” Benson said. “Everything moved to a double-team on me, and Joe (Petrak) and Phil (George) would get wide open and hit threes. They got hot from outside.”

However, what is the X-factor for the Hornets as they look to join in on the March Madness? Benson feels like it is Hinsdale South's bench that will have a say in the Hornets' quest to reach the promised land.

“Our JV guys work really hard,” Benson said. “We have a deep bench. Every game we have a different guy come out and have a big game off the bench.”

With the inside presence of Benson and the perimeter shooting from Petrak and George, the idea of making a postseason runisn’t that far-fetched.

After losing to Downers Grove South 55-36 Friday, Doran made it clear that he would have fresh bodies on the floor at all times for the Hornets. Senior Dijon James and junior Ryan Johnson saw an extended amount of minutes Saturday.

Although the Hornet bench wasn’t a factor in Saturday’s victory over Leyden, three-year varsity player Petrak resounded with the same sentiments as Benson.

“They work hard in practice all the time,” Petrak said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, we always get a contribution from someone on the bench.”

The Hornets play their next game Tuesday at home against Lyons Township.

“I feel good about our chances,” Doran said while pondering the end of the regular season. “In the post season, everyone starts 0-0. We will come into playoff time, look at tape and see how we want to handle things.”

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