By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Following a 57-50 win over Republic County in the sub-state quarterfinal on Tuesday, the Bennington boys basketball team will be in for a battle against #2 St. Mary’s on Friday.
The Bulldogs come into this contest with an overall record of 13-8 while the Bears enter at 17-3. Both teams will ride hot streaks into this game with Bennington winning their last five and St. Mary’s winning their last nine.
“We really believe we’re playing our best basketball in the month of March and we’ve had some big confidence builders down the stretch which has been really good for our younger kids,” Bulldog head coach Curtis Pickering said. “Hopefully, we can keep it up.”
Bennington will have their work cut out for them on Friday against a St. Mary’s team that has averaged almost 70 points per game this season.
“They’re very balanced and they have a ton of experience on the floor,” Pickering said. “They have good shooters and a monster inside. They’re very quick and they’ll be a handful for sure.”
That aforementioned monster is 6-8 senior Fred Criqui who has averaged a double-double this season with 15 points and 10 boards.
“Defensively we need to make sure we throw some help down there for Eli, especially with that kind of size in the paint,” he said. “He has some experience on us for sure.”
Criqui isn’t even the Bear’s biggest scoring threat as junior Keller Hurla averages a cool 19 points per game and posted a school-record 51 in the closing weeks of the regular season.
The Bulldogs have their own monster inside in Eli Lawson. The sophomore standout has averaged 20 points per game for Bennington this season but will be challenged in the paint tonight.
“Offensively Eli needs to keep doing what he’s doing and stay in his comfort zone regardless of who’s guarding him,” Pickering said. “We need to make sure we get him touches in comfortable situations.”
With such a young squad, the Bulldogs truly feel as if they’re playing with house money, something that makes them dangerous in the month of March.
“We’re so young that I don’t think the pressure is really there for this group,” he said. “We want to get to state but the kids are loose and they feel like they can just go out there and play. On the other side of that, we don’t have a ton of experience so that could be an issue.”
Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Bears is set for 7:30 pm at Republic County High School with the winner moving on to the sub-state final on Saturday to take on Sacred Heart or Wabaunsee for a ticket to state.
For continuing coverage of Bennington at sub-state, stay tuned to the Salina Post.