Boys basketball: Streator uses strong defense, Benning’s 27 to top Manteno in ICE play

MANTNEO – While the play on the court may look solid from those watching from the stands, sometimes a coach knows there is just something off with his team’s performance.

Although his Bulldogs were tied early with host Manteno on Tuesday night, Streator coach Beau Doty felt his group needed a little reminder of a few aspects of the game he felt he wasn’t seeing.

“I regretted not calling a timeout Saturday against Ottawa at one point; even though we were winning that game at the time, I sensed that our attention to details wasn’t where it needed to be,” Doty said. “I really like saving my timeouts until I really need them, but I told myself that if I see that again and my gut tells to use a stoppage to get things back on track, I need to burn a timeout no matter the time or score.”

Out of the timeout, Streator reeled off 11 of the game’s next 13 points. The Panthers were able to cut the deficit back to three with less than a minute to play before intermission, but a corner 3-pointer and drive for two by Christian Benning closed the half.

The Bulldogs then held the hosts to seven points in the second half to earn a 59-30 victory to improve to 5-4 overall and 4-0 in the Illinois Central Eight Conference.

“Sometimes everyone needs a little wake-up call,” Doty said. “When you’re playing in an opponent’s gym, they want to beat you. You have to bring the energy right from the start when you are on the road. The one thing is your defense should always travel, and it did with us tonight, especially in the second half.”

Benning – who was named the Illinois Pork Producers IHSA Boys Basketball Player of the Week – netted 15 of his game-high 27 points in the opening 16 minutes while grabbing nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals for Streator. Landon Muntz scored eight of his 12 points in the first period and finished with seven rebounds. Matt Williamson posted five points, four rebounds and three assists, while Quinn Baker had six rebounds.

Manteno (3-5, 1-3) was led by seven points each from Jeremiah Renchen and Jason Brown.

Streator held a 31-23 lead heading into the second half before Benning opened the third with a layup and three-point play around two free throws by Nolan Lukach. A 15-foot jumper by Muntz and drive by Williamson at the end of the quarter put the Bulldogs up 47-28.

“We ended the first half in a good way,” Doty said. “Then we came out in the third quarter and continued our strong play, were able to gap them, and kind of put them away.”

Streator finished the game shooting 44% (25 of 57) from the field while also owning a decisive advantage on the boards at 39-23, including 14-4 on the offensive end. Defensively, the Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers and held the Panthers to 29% (11 of 38) shooting, including 4 of 24 in the second half.

“Manteno makes it tough on you by using a ton of ball screens,” Doty said. “We able to create and force a lot of turnovers by moving our feet instead of reaching, which was good to see.”

Streator will be on the road again Friday night when it travels to take on Coal City in a key ICE matchup.