Boys basketball: Persistence pays off as Benet captures elusive state title over Warren

CHAMPAIGN — Gene Heidkamp has been the architect at Benet of one of the state’s most respected and best basketball programs since he arrived at the Lisle private school in 2008.

Taking a program steeped in tradition that once won 102 consecutive home games in the 1980s, Heidkamp’s Redwings have won greater than 20 games in 15 consecutive full seasons since his only losing season at Benet, his first.

It’s almost become routine for his players to refer to Heidkamp, who had won 419 games at Benet coming into Saturday, as “the state’s best coach.”

All that was missing, it seemed, was a state championship.

Until Saturday night.

Benet, runner-up at state three times since 2014 under Heidkamp, is bridesmaid no more.

The Redwings built a double-digit lead in the second half and held off a furious rally to beat Warren 55-54 in a thrilling Class 4A final at the State Farm Center for the school’s first boys basketball state championship.

Warren star Jaxson Davis, who scored five points in the final minute, slipped on a drive to the basket on his team’s last possession. Warren was granted a timeout, and on the ensuing inbounds with 0.3 seconds left, Benet’s Edvardas Stasys knocked away a Davis pass as time expired.

“I can’t even describe it. It doesn’t feel real, it hasn’t hit me yet,” Benet junior guard Jayden Wright said. “We wanted this really bad, we wanted this for our coach. He’s the greatest coach ever and a great guy. We wanted to do this for him.”

Benet (33-5) previously took second place in the Class 4A final to Young in 2014, Curie in 2016 and Moline in 2023.

SIU recruit Daniel Pauliukonis scored 17 points and had 6 rebounds, Wright scored 15 points and Blake Fagbemi had 14 points and 6 assists for Benet.

Javerion Banks scored 22 points and Davis had 17 points and 8 assists for Warren (27-11).

Heidkamp, who walked arm in arm with former Benet star Dave Sobolewski as he left the arena, saluted the character of his first state champion.

“It was just a resilient group, really from the last year,” Heidkamp said. “I think we put a lot of work into having the opportunity tonight. I’m glad that we were able to hang on.”

Benet, which led 16-11 after a quarter, 24-23 at halftime and by as many as 11 in the third quarter, led 52-43 with four minutes left after a Fagbemi score.

But Warren closed to within 54-52 with 55.4 seconds left on a Davis 3-pointer, and he followed his own miss to draw the Blue Devils within 55-54 with 33.5 seconds left.

Fagbemi was called for a charge at the other end, setting up the final possession.

“It was the longest five minutes of my life,” Wright said. “They’re a great team.”

Benet senior Mac Doyle held Davis, one of the top sophomores in the state, to 6 points at the half. He had the unenviable task of trying to keep Davis in front of him on Warren’s last possession.

“He’s a phenomenal player. It was tough,” Doyle said. “But I know I have four guys on the court there in help position.”

Warren was granted a timeout, and the clock adjusted to 0.3 seconds. Davis, inbounding from the baseline, had his pass knocked away by the 6-foot-7 Stasys.

“We wanted to put our big lineup in there, because we knew they had to throw toward the rim,” Heidkamp said. “Honestly we didn’t defend it the way I wanted, but Ed made a great play.

“We wanted Colin [Stack] more toward the rim and protect the rim, we wanted Ed to make it hard to get the ball in. He did a great job.”

Benet made four 3s in the first quarter, Wright hitting two of them and scoring 8 points. Pauliukonis’ 3-pointer in the final seconds gave the Redwings a 16-11 lead after a quarter. It was the biggest margin for either team in the first half.

Warren scored the first 5 points of the second quarter to tie it 16-16. Banks came off the bench to score 8 for the Blue Devils in the first half, and Warren took a 19-18 lead on a 3-pointer by Owen Squires with 4:33 left in the half.

Fagbemi’s runner gave Benet back the lead 20-19, and the Redwings stayed there 24-23 at the half.

Fagbemi and Wright each scored four points during a 10-0 Benet run in the third quarter that opened up its biggest lead 38-27 with 2:32 left.

But Warren scored the last 7 points of the quarter, closing to within 38-34 on a Davis tip-in. Benet built the lead back up to 52-43 on a Fagbemi drive with four minutes left.

Fagbemi’s older brother Brayden was the point guard for Benet’s 2023 runner-up.

“Yeah, I’m happy that I was able to get one for him [his brother] and one for coach Heidkamp,” Fagbemi said. “I know he wanted to get one for him, too. So yeah I feel like I redeemed him.”

Warren, in defeat, became runner-up for the third time, joining its 1999 and 2011 teams. The Blue Devils, ranked in the preseason, overcame injuries throughout the season and were seeking to become just the fourth state champion with double-digit losses.

“I’m so grateful for these guys, to have this moment,” Warren senior Jack Wolf said. “The season we had, 10 losses, it’s special to be here.”

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