Editor’s Note: This article was also published in the Benet Herald 2025 Graduation Edition.
It was no surprise to the fans of Benet’s basketball team that a state championship would come to the Redwings someday. The 2024-25 season, however, was unlike any other that preceded it. By the beginning of the season, the team had solidified its starting players. Blake Fagbemi, brother of 2023 star player Brayden Fagbemi, was recognized as an essential piece of this year’s team. Fagbemi, who has committed to playing basketball at the University of Illinois, led the team in assists and total points. Senior and Southern Illinois University commit Daniel Pauliukonis, as well as Junior Jayden Wright both were accurate from the three-point line, giving critical boosts in momentum to the team. Junior Colin Stack provided Benet with what most other high school teams simply did not have a 7-foot-2-inch tall forward and center. Stack made shots close to the hoop that were unmatched by any other player in the state. Sophomore Edvardas Stasys also added essential “sixth man” support as a chief rebounder.
Finally, if the above players were the pieces needed for success, the seniors of the class of 2025 were the ones that glued this puzzle together. Senior Michael Doyle, unmistakably a team-player, also dealt with the unenviable task of guarding the state’s star players. Seniors Tommy Bartenhagen, Brendan Beaumont, Jonny Coleman, Will Heckman, and Kyle Pusatera gave motivation to their team and played commanding roles in many of Benet’s regular season games.
After a game against Oswego East where Benet came to the cliff of defeat, the team put all the pieces together for their magical run. After a commanding win over downstate powerhouse Quincy at Illinois State University, Benet advanced to the State Finals in Champaign for the fourth time in Coach Gene Heidkamp’s seventeen year career. The Redwings came face to face with Evanston Township High School’s basketball team, a program that handed Benet its last regular season loss just six weeks before the state tournament. However, a commanding first and fourth quarter performance enabled Benet to have a decisive 22-point lead going into the final minute of the game.
Going into Saturday night, the atmosphere was hectic as the Redwings faced the Blue Devils of Warren Township High School and three-star sophomore Jaxson Davis in the 4A state championship, the most elite in Illinois. For most of the game, the Redwings were deadlocked with Warren’s team. As the game progressed, Benet slowly gained the upper hand, and they were up by seven points with 90 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, two costly fouls and a turnover resulted in a nail-biting score of 55 points for Benet, 54 for Warren in the final thirty seconds of the game. After Jaxson Davis slipped on his way to shoot, Warren had a golden chance to inbound the ball and shoot the game-winner with three-tenths of a second remaining in the game. A defiant block from Edvardas Stasys sealed the game, with Benet emerging as state champions by one point.
Jubilation and pandemonium emerged amongst the Benet players and their sideline reserve players. Chairs and railings were toppled, as the student section witnessed Benet’s first state championship in a team sport since the pandemic. Surrounded by professional reporters, the spectators in Champaign, and tens of thousands over television, an overwhelming feeling of euphoria emerged amongst all of Benet’s varsity players. As Coach Heidkamp, an inductee into the Illinois Boys Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame this year, can attest, what makes a basketball team special is a supportive school community, which Benet students were more than willing to provide this season.
