Plainfield N. remains on perfect run

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PLAINFIELD -- Nobody said it would be easy.

Playing at home for only the second time this season, the Plainfield North High School boys basketball team put together a fourth quarter rally Saturday night and kept its season record unblemished by defeating Benet Academy 60-56.

North (9-0) did not commit a turnover in the first half, but the Redwings were able to keep pace by crashing the offensive boards and pounding the ball inside. Benet outrebounded the Tigers 21-13 in the first half, collecting 7 offensive boards.

The Tigers took its biggest lead of the first half at 19-15 when Ryan Crow connected on a 3-pointer off a feed from Reggie Lemon. But Benet (4-7) battled back for the lead on a possession where the Redwings got three scoring chances courtesy of a pair of offensive rebounds.

"It actually started in the first quarter when they got second, third, and fourth opportunities to score," Plainfield North coach Nick DiForti said. "For the first three quarters, they capitalized on every mistake that we made."

The Tigers led 14-12 after one quarter and just 28-27 at halftime. Kendall Frank opened the second half scoring with a layup that produced a 30-27 advantage for the Tigers before Benet went on a tear.

The Redwing trio of sophomore Dave Sobolewski, Mike Runger and Joe Meyerhoff combined to put together an 11-0 run that catapulted the Redwings into a 38-30 lead with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Meyerhoff, a 6-8 center, started the run with a bucket inside and Sobolewski ended it with a 3-pointer. Sobolewski lead all scorers with 24 points, while Meyerhoff added 16. The Redwings held their biggest lead of the game at 44-34 when Joe Morris converted a conventional 3-point play late in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter, though, belonged to the Tigers. By picking up the intensity in the last 8:00, North forced the Redwings into 8 of their 15 turnovers. The Tigers also outrebounded Benet 6-2, and limited Benet to 0-for-4 shooting from the field before Sobolewski tossed in a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"We have been in situations where we have been down this season, and we have maintained our composure," DiForti said. "I would like to see us play with that type of intensity (that we showed in the fourth) quarter for a whole game."

The Tigers picked up the pace both offensively and defensively in the decisive fourth quarter.

North had pulled to within 50-44 by connecting on 7-of-9 free throws in the first 3:28 of the final quarter. After the Tigers came up with a defensive stop, a wide-open Lemon connected on a long 3-pointer that ignited the crowd and trimmed the lead to 50-47. Lemon then stole the in-bound pass, and Frank trimmed the lead to 50-49 with a strong layup.

Mike Klett then tied the game at 50-apiece with a free throw and gave the Tigers the lead for good on a layup off a feed from Lemon that closed out an 8-0 spurt. This came in the middle of an 18-3 run by the Tigers, which was sparked their defense.

"In practice, we teach when and how to push, and when and how to slow down," DiForti said. "We were able to capitalize on their mistakes in the fourth quarter."

Scott Vachon battled Meyerhoff inside throughout the game, and did a yeoman's job of holding him scoreless in the final quarter.

"Scotty always plays the other team's center tough," said DiForti.

Lemon led the Tigers with 21 points while Frank added 10. The Tigers hit 25-of-32 free throws, including 17 in the second half.