Marist dominates Benet to win its first basketball state championship

CHAMPAIGN — For 117 years of the Illinois High School Association state basketball tournament, only one Chicago private school won the large-school state championship. That was Mount Carmel back in 1985.

Saturday in Chicago featured St. Patrick's Day parades and the river was dyed green. And a South Side Catholic School finally won another state title.

Marist upset Benet, the defending champs, 44-28 at State Farm Center.

"This feels great," senior guard TJ Tate said. "Shoutout to all the coaches for pushing us every day in practice. Everybody came in and played their role and executed what we had to to."

The RedHawks held Benet scoreless in the second quarter, held off an early charge in the third quarter and dominated the fourth.

“The second quarter really hurt us," Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. "We couldn’t score. And once we got down they spread us out. We are not designed to play from behind. It’s just not something we do all that well. They executed their plan really well."

DePaul Prep and Benet dominated the state all season, but Marist peaked late and played its best through a challenging playoff run.

"[We] aren't that surprised we are sitting here," RedHawks coach Brian Hynes said. "The doubting, ‘the Marist can’t break through’ has really motivated us.”

Charles Barnes, a transfer from De La Salle, led the RedHawks (33-5) with 13 points and Stephen Brown added eight points and eight rebounds. TJ Tate scored seven and Karson Thomas six.

Colin Stack, a 7-1 senior, led Benet (36-2) with nine points and five rebounds.

"We are disappointed with the outcome," Heidkamp said. "They are a deserving champ. It was frustrating to not play better. It just seemed we couldn’t put the ball in the basket to get any momentum."

Brown, a 6-7 senior, entered high school as the top-ranked recruit in the state's Class of 2026. He's also a talented wide receiver and back in November decided to go with football instead of basketball in the future. He's signed with North Carolina State.

"It's crazy, it has been a long four years here," Brown said. "We have been through a lot. I'm just excited we went out with a bang."

Brown battled in the post with Stack and 6-8 junior Ed Stasys.

"It was hectic going back and forth but I was ready for it," Brown said. "I’ve played against those guys many times and I knew what they were going to do."

This was Marist's first trip to the state finals. Benet won the championship last year and has now lost four Class 4A state title games since 2014.

"Right now it still hasn’t hit me," Hynes said. "It’s just about all the players and the community that can share in this now."

This was the final IHSA basketball game without a shot clock. Next season every game, regular season and playoffs, will feature a 35-second shot clock.