Boys Basketball: Josh Harris, Timothy Christian knock off Benet in memorable home finale

ELMHURST – Timothy Christian senior guard Josh Harris followed his first instinct at the conclusion of Friday’s home game against Benet.

The Illinois College recruit endured a rough shooting night, finishing with just five points. But Harris managed to find himself in the right spot at the right time, grabbing the final rebound to seal the upset win.

Harris immediately starting celebrating in the far corner, then darted up the court to be with his teammates. After missing a chance to play in the Class 2A state tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was a fitting end for Harris on Senior Night.

In the second-to-last game of the season, Timothy Christian recorded an impressive 38-33 victory over Benet. The Trojans (13-2) celebrated Senior Night with a postgame gathering with family, but they still have one more memorable game left. Timothy Christian hosts Riverside-Brookfield Saturday at 4 p.m. for the Metro Suburban Conference title.

“It was an off game for me, but I knew my teammates would step up for me,” Harris said. “Even when I don’t score that much, I just try and be a leader out there. It was great to beat (Benet). They beat us the last two years, so we knew we had to come out and get our revenge.”

And the Trojans needed a team effort to knock off the Class 4A powerhouse. Junior Ben VanderWal scored a game-high 19 points, drilling four key 3-pointers. Senior guard Matija Marinkovich added eight points, but his play in the final minutes was instrumental in the comeback victory. With Timothy Christian clinging to a 36-33 lead, Marinkovich’s steal with 55 seconds left was key to the win. He added a breakaway layup with 12 seconds for the final points.

Senior guard Ben Jones scored six of his eight points in the second quarter to keep Benet from pulling away.

“It’s ironic the way the season laid out,” Timothy Christian coach Scott Plaisier said. “We were able to kind of have a postseason in a time where there’s no postseason. It’s scripted pretty well, to play Benet on Senior Night and then turn around and play Riverside-Brookfield for the conference championship.

“I feel like our senior group deserved that, especially after some of the things they lost out on last year. It’s a special group. They have won a ton of basketball games in their time here.”

VanderWal’s shooting factored into the upset, mainly because of Harris’ struggles from the field. The 6-foot-5 VanderWal hit back-to-back 3s in the first quarter, nailed a deep three late in the second quarter and gave the Trojans a big lift in the fourth quarter.

VanderWal leaped into the air, grabbed a missed 3-pointer, and laid the ball up in the basket to cut the deficit to 31-30 midway through the fourth. He left the game for a few minutes to get his eye checked out, but returned to make a key basket for a 35-31 lead at the 2:02 mark.

“I caught the offensive rebound and didn’t come down with it, and shot it but I got shoved in the back and my body went (forward) and I didn’t have time to get my hands down because I was shooting,” VanderWal said of his injury. “It slashed my eye. It felt good to get going shooting and I built off that.”

The Redwings (10-4) concluded their season on the anniversary date of their heartbreaking end to the 2019-20 season. Benet had its Class 3A sectional semifinal canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Redwings are one of the few teams not playing on Saturday, so the road loss was an emotional moment for the seniors.

Benet scored just four points in the fourth quarter, with junior Brennan White ending with a team-best 11 points.

“It’s been a really good season for us, but this is a tough way to end,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “The seniors have been great. It’s been tough for everybody involved. The seniors never quit, and had a very good year. We finished in second place in the East Suburban Catholic. We played very well and I’m proud of the kids in how they played this year.”