Benet sophomore guard Gabriel Sularski began the season lacking varsity experience. So did most of his teammates.
One thing the 6-foot-6 Sularski didn’t lack was confidence, which hasn’t wavered through the many ups and occasional downs of a schedule filled with some of the toughest opponents in the state.
“I think it’s good,” Sularski said. “We’ve played some tough games this year, and now going into the state tournament, I just feel comfortable.
“I think we’re prepared for the state tournament. We’ve played a lot of really competitive teams.”
That includes DePaul Prep, which beat the Redwings 49-35 in the regular-season finale in Lisle on Friday.
The Rams (28-2) won the Class 2A state championship last season and the Chicago Catholic League title this season and are one of the top contenders in 3A.
The Redwings (25-6) led 11-10 after Sularski sank a pull-up baseline jumper with two seconds left in the second quarter, but the Rams answered with a 19-4 run and weren’t threatened after that.
Yet true to form, Benet fought hard to the end, pulling within 36-27 on a basket by 6-foot-8 junior forward Daniel Pauliukonis late in the third quarter. It wasn’t enough, but that wasn’t the point.
“They’re always resilient,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “That’s been the story of our season. We dig ourselves holes, and we have to fight hard to get out of them.
“When you’re playing against teams like DePaul Prep, it’s a bit of an overwhelming task.”
Which is why the Redwings’ record is pretty impressive considering they start two sophomores and a junior and have two more sophomores getting regular minutes off the bench after reaching the Class 4A state championship game with a much different lineup last season.
Benet won the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament, took second at the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament and won the East Suburban Catholic Conference title. None of the Redwings’ losses were by more than 14 points.
“All six of them are (to teams) ranked in the top 17 in the area: Thornton, DePaul, Mount Carmel, Curie, Marist and Marian Catholic,” Heidkamp said. “There’s no bad losses there.
“We’ve got a ways to go to be able play (its best), but we’re as tested as anybody is going to be. Our sectional is really loaded, but nobody’s played the schedule we have played.”
Sularski, who already has several Big Ten offers, has been the leader, averaging a team-best 14.0 points while playing well at both ends. He did so again Friday, pacing the Redwings with 10 points and two assists. Sophomore point guard Jayden Wright added eight points and a team-high five rebounds.
“To be honest, we played pretty well offensively,” Sularski said. “We got our shots. It’s just the defensive end. We’ve got to start prioritizing defense more. I think that’s the biggest thing for us, and rebounding.”
Rebounding was a problem against DePaul, which had a 24-17 advantage as 6-7 Jaylan McElroy and 6-6 Rashaun Porter each had nine rebounds.
But the Redwings have plenty of height with Sularski, Pauliukonis, 7-0 sophomore center Colin Stack and 6-7 senior Parker Sulaver. The question is whether they can climb the mountain of formidable opposition in the Class 4A East Aurora Sectional.
The fourth-seeded Redwings open against 13th-seeded Plainfield East (11-20) in the Oswego East Regional semifinals on Wednesday. Fifth-seeded Oswego East (20-10) likely awaits in the regional final, followed by top-seeded Bolingbrook (24-4) in the sectional semifinals.
“Regionals are going to be hard this year,” Sularski said. “Leading up to Wednesday, we’ve got to do really good in practice, get our sets down on offense and then just work on our defense.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
