CHAMPAIGN — With a college football career at NC State looming, Marist’s Stephen Brown had one more high school basketball game left to play.
And the last one just happened to be the biggest of his career. There was certainly a lot running through his mind before the game.
“Emotions were high,” Brown said. “Basketball has been a big part of my life. It’s played a big role in my development and made me better at football. I was nervous coming into the game, actually.
“But once we started and got rolling, it was all good.”
Better than good. It was historic.
Photos: Marist earns program’s 1st state basketball title with 44-28 win over Benet
Brown scored eight points, pulled down eight rebounds and was huge defensively Saturday night as Marist rolled to a stunningly convincing 44-28 win over defending champion Benet in the Class 4A state championship game at the State Farm Center.
It’s the first state title in program history for Marist, which became just the second private school from Chicago to win a boys basketball championship in the largest class, joining the 1984-85 Class AA champs from Mount Carmel.
Charles Barnes led the RedHawks (33-5) with 13 points, while TJ Tate contributed seven points and four assists and Karson Thomas added six points.
Adoni Vassilakis and Kendall Meyers also delivered huge defensive efforts as Marist shut out Benet (36-2) in the second quarter and held the Redwings to just three points in the fourth quarter.
“This is a dream having this happen,” Vassilakis said. “We’ve been proving it all year. We’ve just been doubted. A lot of people said we weren’t good enough. We couldn’t win without D-I guys. It just didn’t work like that.
“We have high-character kids who buy into the system and play for each other. We knew we were the better team. It was about going out and showing them.”
Colin Stack, Benet’s 7-foot center who is headed to North Dakota State, led the Redwings with nine points but seven of them came in the first quarter as Benet grabbed a 9-4 lead.
After that, Brown dominated defensively in the lane.
“Coach saw what was happening and told me to guard them,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to go guard them.’ It was hectic going back and forth, but I felt like I was ready for it.
“I’ve played against those guys many times and I knew what I needed to do. I just needed to stay in front of them.”
Coming into the weekend, Marist heard the talk of the semifinal between Benet and DePaul Prep being the de facto state championship game.
In the end, it’s the RedHawks on top. And Marist coach Brian Hynes expected it.
“I don’t think we’re really surprised that we’re sitting here,” Hynes said. “I think the doubting and people saying Marist can’t break through really motivated us.”
Marist outscored Benet 11-0 in the second quarter to take a 23-13 halftime lead and never lost control, answering a 7-0 run from Benet that started the third quarter with an 8-2 surge of its own.
And Brown finished off a huge postseason, playing at another level when it mattered the most.
“The playoffs, knowing everything was on the line, that played a big part in me playing my best,” Brown said. “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t really feel confident in myself. I didn’t feel my best.
“But going through this deep playoff run, I felt like I was me again. I know I can compete with the top guys because I’ve done it my whole life.”
Tate saw a different version of Brown as well.
“Yes, it was playoffs Stephen Brown,” Tate said. “He turned it up a notch. He was more aggressive. He went out there and did a good job.”
And now he’s a state champion.
“It’s crazy,” Brown said. “We’re the first people to win state for Marist basketball. That means a lot. We’ll always be the first ones. That’s what I wanted to go out on.
“We made history.”
