St Benedict Preparatory Schools: High School Grades 6 -12

By Coach Kevin Walsh

The St. Benedict boys basketball team completed a successful season last Friday with a loss in the regional final. The Bengals final record was 17-10 overall, 8-4 and third place in Chicago Prep Conference play. They had season sweeps of Providence-St. Mel, Holy Trinty, CICS-Northtown and Cristo Rey. St. Benedict also defeated neighborhood rival Gordon Tech 59-51 in January. 

Senior point guard Nate Jones led the Bengals, averaging over 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game. The conference player of the year candidate teamed with classmates Zack Johnson, Michael Badillo, and Jon Allieu to rejuvenate the program and navigate a challenging schedule.  

The Bengals began the season with a second place finish at the Thanksgiving tournament. After dominating Kelvyn Park, Chicago Academy and St. Gregory, St. Ben’s fell 48-46 to Steinmetz in the championship game. Badillo was forced to miss the game because of a sprained ankle. 

Conference play opened on the road versus perennial power, St. Mel’s. Led by Allieu’s 15 points and junior Jonathan Martinez’s 20 points, the Maroon and Gold shocked the Knights 59-54. A homecoming match-up pitted the Bengals against CICS Northtown. St. Ben’s sent the packed crowd home happy
following a 62-45 victory.  

The team did not have much time to celebrate. They were back in action the following morning in the opening game of the Schurz Christmas tournament, defeating Chicago Academy. The Bengals placed fourth in the tournament after advancing into the championship bracket from pool play. 

After a buzzer beating 46-43 defeat at the hands of CICS Ellison, the Bengals bounced back to defeat Holy Trinity 47-43 followed by a high intensity match-up against Gordon Tech. 

The rivalry game started with the Bengals hitting three three-pointers, for a 9-0 lead which they were able to keep throughout the first half. The Rams began to battle back after halftime, eventually taking the lead near the end of the third quarter. After going back and forth during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, Johnson hit a corner three. Jones attacked the basket and sealed the game from the free-throw line. 

The Bengals played their most complete game of the season in an 82-81 double overtime victory over Providence-St. Mel’s. Jones led the Bengals with 36 points. Junior Habeeb Olowo poured in 18 and pulled down 21 rebounds. St. Ben’s escaped with the win when a St. Mel’s shot rolled off the rim as time expired. 

St. Benedict closed the regular season with victories over Latin, Holy Trinity and Cristo Rey, earning the second seed in the Northridge Prep Regional. 

In the opening round game versus Francis Parker, the Bengals played an outstanding first half, jumping out to a 33-16 halftime lead. Parker chipped away at the lead throughout the second half, whittling it away to two points with 1:23 remaining while retaining possession of the ball. The Bengals played smothering defense for a minute, not allowing Parker any open looks. Olowo corralled a Parker miss and was fouled with 8 seconds left. He made one of two free throws, but Johnson snagged the offense rebound on the second miss and was fouled. He sealed the game at the line, sending St. Ben’s to the
regional final. 

During the regional final game against Northridge Prep, the Bengals never got on track, falling behind by double digits in the first half before rallying in the second half. However, the comeback fell short, closing out the Bengals’ season. 

Jones, Olowo and head coach Tom Horn were each honored by the Chicago Prep Conference following the season. Jones was named first-team all conference, Olowo garnered second team all conference honors and Horn collected the conference Coach of the Year award. Jones is also one of three finalists for the conference Player of the Year award to be announced at a later date. All voting was done by conference coaches.