Gaughan's fadeaway the clear-cut difference

The hero missed the ending.

Standing with a towel over his face at the end of Benet's bench, senior Brian Gaughan did not see teammate Ryan Haggerty successfully defend Jerome Robinson's attempt to win the game for St. Patrick on Saturday.

Gaughan saw Robinson catch the half-court inbounds pass but then buried his head for the finale. The 6-foot-6-inch Robinson pivoted left on the 6-8 Haggerty next, but he stood tall and defended Robinson's shot without fouling.

Gaughan's winning basket stood up instead, and Benet won 57-56 at home, handing St. Patrick its first East Suburban Catholic Conference loss of the season. Gaughan gave the Redwings (7-7, 3-3 ESCC) the win with a fadeaway jump shot from about 12 feet with 15.8 seconds remaining.

"They defended it well," he said. "They kind of hedged out on it. My defender got back on me, and I just made a play. That kid had the longest arms. It seemed like his arms were growing as I was shooting."

Gaughan made several key shots to help the Redwings erase an 11-point deficit. He made five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 22 points.

Benet recorded a team-high 10 3-pointers overall, including four in the first quarter. That helped them build an 11-point lead, but a five-minute scoreless stretch to open the second quarter led to a 28-28 tie at halftime.

"We knew they were going to make a run at us, but we didn't know it was going to be that quick," Benet coach Marty Gaughan said. "Our kids just really persevered. I'm very proud. They really could have just folded the tents."

St. Patrick (10-5, 5-1) scored the first 11 of the third quarter and led 39-28, but Brian Gaughan halted the run with a 3-pointer. He cut the lead to 41-38 after stealing the ball and converting a layup. And in the fourth quarter, he tied the game at 46 with yet another 3.

"If you asked what the difference was, it was Gaughan," St. Patrick coach Mike Bailey said. "A leader, obviously a great shooter, a kid that goes and makes big plays."

Contact Brad Engel at bengel@scn1.com or 630-416-5289.