Neither team led by more than six points in the back-and-forth affair, as a free throw with 1.1 seconds remaining from 7-foot North Dakota Sate signee
Colin Stack was the difference.
Prior to game-winning free throw, junior guard
Perry Tchiegne came up big on the other end with a late steal before junior forward
Edvardas Stasys was fouled to prevent a transition layup.
Under-the-radar junior Edvardas Stasys continued strong season by making big plays in the clutch. (FILE PHOTO: Marcus Handy)
The two teams combined to call five timeouts with two seconds left on the clock before a baseline lob pass led to Stack drawing the foul before splitting a pair at the line.
Stasys scored six straight points for Benet Academy to help his squad match its biggest lead of the contest at 36-30 with 3:30 to go in the fourth quarter.
Back-to-back putbacks off teammates misses were followed up by an alley-oop slam off slam on a pass from Stack as Stasys finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
After falling behind six points, DePaul showed a valiant comeback effort, tying the game at 36 following a 6-0 run. Toledo signee
Rashaun Porter made a layup before Brown signee
Rykan Woo came up with a steal leading to his own layup and Michigan Tech signee
A.J. Chambers came up with a steal that led directly to a Woo assist to Porter on the break.
Porter finished with a game-high 14 points in the loss while Woo was the only other player in double-figures with 11 points.
Eastern Illinois signee
Jayden Wright scored a team-high 11 points while Stack added nine points, five rebounds and three assists in the win.
Benet Academy (36-1) extends its win-streak to 33 games dating back to November, as the Redwings aim to capture the program's second consecutive Class 4A state championship against
Marist (Chicago) at 6 p.m. Saturday local time.
The game was a rematch of a 52-43 victory for Benet Academy in the Pontiac Holiday
Tournament championship game. Both of DePaul's in state losses were to Benet this season.
DePaul College Prep (32-4) snaps its 27-game postseason win streak as the Rams came into the showdown as three-time defending state champions. DePaul's previous state titles came in Class 2A in 2023 and Class 3A in 2024 and 2025.
