Hinsdale Central senior Mike Ostojic scores in Red Devils' loss to state-ranked Benet Academy.

Coming into a game against a state-ranked opponent with two Big Ten recruits is always a daunting task.

But try making it the second game of the season on a team with only two players back with varsity experience.

That was the challenge at hand for Hinsdale Central's boys basketball team Friday against Benet at the Hinsdale South Tournament. The Red Devils tried to hang around, but Benet was eventually too much in a 58-31 loss.

"They have two Big Ten players, so it's pretty difficult," Hinsdale Central senior Mike Ostojic said. We tried to match up with them, but I had foul trouble early and had to sit. We competed with them early, but I think we came out a little bit scared."

The overriding theme of the game was Benet's decided height advantage and dominating rebound differential. The Redwings outrebounded Central, 45-to-27, with 14 of those boards coming from 7-foot, Wisconsin-bound center Frank Kaminsky, who also led all scorers with 20 points in the game.

Benet also pulled a 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-7 player off the bench regularly. Ostojic is the tallest Red Devil that played, and he's a lanky 6-foot-6.

"The size is certainly a factor," Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre said. "We probably won't see many 7-footers, with 6-foot-8 guys to go along with him. They're very experienced. It's only going to make us better down the road. It's definitely a good opportunity to see one of the best teams in the state."

Benet's stars, Kaminsky and Northwestern-bound point guard David Sobolewski, put on a show early. Benet (2-0) jumped out to a 24-9, and that duo scored all of the points. Central (0-2) went into the half on a positive note when Tom Kladis ended the half with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 29-14.

That lead eventually swelled to 45-23 by the end of the third before Benet won going away in the fourth.

Hinsdale Central only attempted four free throws (making one) shot 13-of-51 from the field and didn't have anybody score more than Alec Hutcherson's seven points in addition to being dominated on the boards.

"I thought our offense was stagnant in a lot of areas," Latorre said. "I don't know what to attribute that to, we'll see what it looks like on tape. I didn't think we ran our offense very well."

After opening the season with a loss to rival Hinsdale South in the opener and one of the best teams they'll see all season in Benet, the Red Devils are looking forward to Saturday's game against Sandburg and the chance to pick up their first win of the season.

"It's extremely important," Ostojic said. "We're a young team. Not many of us have varsity experience. We're very young, so we need to come out with some strength. It's still early in the season."