Boys Basketball: Matt Reid getting back up to speed, directs Benet past Naperville North

LISLE – Benet guard Matt Reid has been looking to get up to speed after missing a month with mono.

He was like a broken record on Tuesday.

Reid overcame serious foul trouble and dished out a game-high six assists to help the host Redwings knock off Naperville North 63-50. Every time the Huskies got close, it seemed like Reid would skip a pass to someone for a key basket.

“He played great tonight, especially coming back from being sick,” Benet center Colin Crothers said of Reid. “I know he’s been trying to get back to where he was before and I think tonight he did that.

“He played within the game, he played within himself and he was able to find everything. The game just came to him tonight.”

Reid, who also had four points and two steals, had three assists in the early going as the Redwings (15-5) opened up a 13-6 lead.

Benet did most of its first-half damage from the 3-point stripe, where they sank six 3-pointers before the break. Jack Prock, who finished with 14 points, sank three of his four treys and Colin Gillespie hit two.

The Redwings led by 17 after three quarters and were still up 48-32 following Reid’s driving layup with 7:10 left.

But Naperville North (10-11) made things interesting, going on a 10-0 run to pull within 48-42 on Riley Thompson’s third 3 of the game.

Crothers and Reid ultimately stopped the rally in its tracks. The 6-foot-8 Crothers tallied nine of his 17 points in the final five minutes, starting with an inside basket at the 4:59 mark.

Crothers, who led all players with 11 rebounds, followed with a 3-pointer, his team’s eighth of the night, for a 53-42 cushion.

“I’m not surprised at all that he’s able to stretch it out,” Reid said of Crothers’ range. “He can do all those post moves and it’s awesome playing with him, finding him for those easy layups.

“Me and Crothers have been working for four years for this.”

There was still work to do, and Reid got it done at the other end. Playing with four fouls, he drew a charge from Naperville North’s Zeke Williams, then sank both ends of a 1-and-1 with 3:21 to go.

Stepping in front of Williams was a gutsy move to make with four fouls, but Reid didn’t hesitate.

“We had momentum going into it and I have confidence in my teammates if I foul out, anyone can come in and step up and lead the charge back at them,” Reid said. “I got no problem with fouling out because I know whoever comes in for me is going to do either the same job or a better job.”

Reid returned to the lineup during the MLK Tournament at Wheaton Warrenville South, but this was only his second start since getting healthy. While the Redwings have plenty of dangerous shooters, Crothers notices a difference when Reid is playing.

“It’s really important for us, especially on the defensive end because he just has that factor of toughness, like taking the charges,” Crothers said. “Not many people are willing to take charges like he is.

“Defensively he is huge for us and then offensively, like you saw tonight, he’s a big part of us just being able to facilitate the ball and take care of the ball and not turn it over.”

Gillespie had 12 points and Sam Hennessy eight for Benet. Thompson scored 17 points to pace the Huskies, who also got 13 points from Johnson, nine from Williams and seven points, six rebounds and four assists from Myles Barry.

“I was really proud of our kids’ effort,” Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said. “We got better from playing in this game, on the road against such a really good team, so we’re going to keep building off it.

“There’s a lot to take from this game that we’re going to improve on and we’ve got a group of kids that are excited to do that, so I’m looking forward to practice tomorrow.”