Friday, March 16, 2001
Benken's shot puts Elder in regional finals
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Elder's Jake Bazeley celebrates by jumping into the arms of teammate Phil Bengel.
(Jeff Swinger photo)
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Elder wasn't very good Thursday night, so Panther coach Joe Schoenfeld was happy his team was lucky. Thanks largely to that luck, Elder beat Springfield South 47-46 in the Division I regional semifinals at Cintas Center Thursday.
The Panthers, 19-6, play Western Hills at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the state tournament.
“I guess if you want to go far in the tournament, you've got to get lucky,” Schoenfeld said. “We had a fair amount of luck tonight.”
And one very big shot. Scott Benken made the big shot with 12.4 seconds to go, giving Elder its only lead of the second half -- and the game.
“Definitely the biggest shot of my life,” Benken said. “I'm just glad I got an opportunity to take it.”
It looked for the longest time like no one on Elder was going to get a chance to be a hero.
The Panthers led 13-10 after a quarter, but South started the second quarter with a 9-0 run to go ahead 19-13 with 3:03 left in the half. Elder played catch-up the rest of the night.
The Wildcats dominated the Panthers on the boards. And South's 6-foot-8 center Elgrace Wilborn, who is Tennessee bound, was blocking or altering every shot the Panthers put up in the paint.
“We tried to stay aggressive,” Schoenfeld said. “You'd rather err on the side of aggressiveness.”
South scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to go up 40-33.
Mike Mahon, Elder's long-distance specialist, hit a 3 with 1:28 to go to make it 44-43.
Then the Panthers got their first bit of luck. South could have iced the game at the free line. But the Wildcats went 1-for-2 on back-to-back trips to the line.
Still, the Panthers trailed 46-43 with 50.9 seconds to go.
Jake Bazeley's jumper cut it to one at 46-45 with 23.4 seconds left. Then Mahon stole the ball just after South inbounded.
Elder called time with 17.2 seconds left.
“We wanted to get the ball to the basket,” Schoenfeld said.
Back-up guard Steve Miller took the in-bound pass and was dribbling near the key.
“Wilborn didn't come out, so I was thinking about shooting,” Miller said. “But I saw Scottie out of the corner of my eye.”
Benken was stationed near the baseline.
“He was a safety valve,” Schoenfeld said. “But he's a good shooter from 15 to 18 feet.”
“Steve (Miller) drove,” Benken said. “My man jumped out on him. I was wide open. I knew it was in when I let it go.”
South's Jordan Copeland took the ball up court. He managed a shot at the buzzer. It went off the the front of the rim.
Elder had survived.
“South played well enough to win,” Schoenfeld said. “I never felt good the whole game because we didn't play the way we usually play.
Elder typically does well on the boards, but South controlled boards. At least half of the Wildcats' baskets came on
offense rebounds.
Wilborn finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
“He's tough,” Benken said. “We had to adjust so many shots. We kind of settle down.”
Bazeley led Elder with 16 points. Benken had nine, and Mahon and Tim Schenke had eight each.
Copeland led South with 16 points.
SOUTH (46) -- Copeland 8 0 16; Brown 2 0 4; Walker 1 2 5; Crossley 3 5 11; Wilbord 5 0 10. Totals: 19 7-12 46.
ELDER (47) -- Bazeley 6 3 16; Benken 2 5 9; Schenke 4 0 8; Mahon 3 0 8; Kroeger 20 4; Bengal 1 0 2. Totals: 18 8-12 47.
South ....... 10 13 13 10 46
Elder ....... 13 9 11 14 47
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Benken's shot puts Elder in regional finals
