The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Johnny be very good
Benjamin leads wild comeback to top Chelsea
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: March 8, 2007
In what has to be considered one of the best basketball games this area has seen in some time, host Dexter defeated county rival Chelsea 59-57 in overtime in front of 2,400 spectators last Friday.
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Dreadnaught senior guard Johnny Benjamin brought the house down, drilling a three-pointer from five feet beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
"I was just thinking about making the three, then the ball came back to me and I shot it and it went in," Benjamin said.
In the extra session, Benjamin (6-foot-4) again was the hero, as he swished a soft running jumper in the lane as the clock struck zero giving Dexter (17-4, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) the victory.
"Coach (Randy Swoverland) had noticed they (Chelsea) had been switching their screens and we thought me versus (Bulldog center Dean) Roberts was a mismatch in our favor," Benjamin said of his game-winner. "We got it and I made the shot. Words cannot describe how good this feels. I'm so happy."
Chelsea coach Robin Raymond said his team left everything out on the floor.
"That was an exceptional high school basketball game played by two very good teams," he said. "I don't think we lost that game, rather Dexter won the game. The kids did exactly what we wanted them to do as far as executing our game plan. I told the kids we have nothing to hang our heads about."
Benjamin finished with a game-high 24 points, including three triples, to lead the Dreadnaughts.
Senior guard Nate Schwarze (5-11) paced the Bulldogs (20-1), who entered the contest unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the state in Class B and No. 7 in the Detroit News' Super 10 poll, with 20 points.
"I love Nate, but this is my first time beating him," Benjamin said about Schwarze, who's also an All-State wide receiver in football, and caught a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass against Dexter this past football season. "It feels good."
Dreadnaught junior guard T.J. Fenske said his team worked so hard for their victory.
"We've done all the drills, went through all the practices, we were ready tonight," he said. "We knew we could play with them."
Swoverland said the Dreadnaughts stayed calm during the game.
"We didn't panic as much as we did in the first game (58-53 Chelsea win) when we got behind," he said. "Both teams played hard. I knew we'd battle to the end."
To no one's surprise, both teams began the game playing strong, in-your-face defense. Both squads have relied on scrappy, physical play to overwhelm opponents this season.
With 2:53 left in the first quarter, Fenske (6-1) drained a three-pointer tying the game at 8-8.
Schwarze answered Fenske's triple with a three-pointer of his own. Schwarze's basket was followed by senior forward Mike Sauers' steal and lay-up increasing Chelsea's lead to 13-8 with 1:58 left in the opening quarter.
The Dreadnaughts regrouped outscoring the Bulldogs 4-2 the rest of the quarter, entering the second stanza trailing 15-12.
The game's two standouts, Benjamin and Schwarze, each had eight points by the quarter's end.
In the second quarter, Chelsea senior sniper Micah Hudson (6-2) hit a triple, the Bulldogs' sixth of the first half, giving Chelsea its largest lead of the contest 26-21 with 2:23 remaining in the half.
Dexter senior forward James Nati (6-4) ended the first half scoring with a steal and basket as the horn sounded, cutting the Bulldogs' advantage to 26-23 at the break.
In the third quarter, Chelsea opened a six-point bulge as senior guard Adam Connell (5-11) converted a nifty backdoor lay-up for a 34-28 lead with 5:01 left in the frame.
The Dreadnaughts, however, roared back as Fenske hit consecutive triples, ending an 8-2 Dexter run and tying the score at 36-36 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs, who have displayed poise and moxie throughout the entire season, remained composed, however, despite the overflow Dreadnaught crowd's best attempts to fluster them, outscoring Dexter 2-1 the rest of the stanza taking a slim 38-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the Bulldogs came out in a stall forcing the Dreadnaughts out of their zone defense. With Dexter playing man-to-man, Hudson was able to break open just enough to launch a three-pointer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net, sending the large and boisterous Chelsea crowd to its feet and increasing the Bulldogs' lead to 41-37 with 5:30 remaining in the game.
In what makes rivalries so special, the Dreadnaughts, instead of wilting from the incessant pressure and dead-eye shooting from the fleet-footed and seemingly inexhaustible Chelsea players, dug deep and came back stronger. On Dexter's following trip down the floor, Benjamin answered with a triple closing the margin to 41-40.
After a Bulldog miss, the Dreadnaughts grabbed the rebound and, with the capacity crowd at a fever pitch, Nati used all of his 6-foot-4 frame rising up and knocking down a triple from the top of the key, blowing the roof off the gymnasium. With the basket, Dexter had its first lead of the night 43-41 with 4:36 left.
Like the proverbial heavyweight fight, Chelsea didn't blink an eye, coming back down the floor on its next possession and coldly draining a triple as Hudson quieted the Dreadnaught faithful. Seconds later, Sauers stole the ball and raced down the court for an easy lay-in and a 46-43 lead.
Off a timeout, Schwarze looked to land the knockout punch to a game, but weary Dexter squad, burying a triple, his fourth of the contest, from the left corner, upping Chelsea's advantage to a seemingly safe 49-43 with 2:34 remaining. It appeared the Bulldogs had taken the Dreadnaughts' best shot and responded in kind and then some.
But this was Dexter-Chelsea. The game was far from over. In fact, the drama was just beginning.
Though with 6-3, 270-pound junior center Dean Roberts' rebound and put back bucket giving the Bulldogs a 51-45 lead with 1:46 left on the clock it appeared Chelsea had taken the Dreads' best shot and survived. The Bulldogs had responded with a 10-2 run after Dexter had taken its first lead of the night on Nati's triple.
With 1:04 remaining, Dreadnaught senior forward Rob Kuzon (6-3, 220) powered up an inside basket cutting the Chelsea lead to 51-47.
After Sauers made two free throws, Benjamin drove the lane for two points and a Dexter timeout trailing 53-49 with 22 seconds left in regulation.
After a Bulldog missed free throw, which made Chelsea 2-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter, Benjamin was fouled and made one free throw for a 53-50 Bulldog lead with eight seconds left.
In the wild scramble after Benjamin's free throw, Chelsea was unable to get the ball inbounds and was forced to call timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs lofted a full court pass, but with time winding down, Chelsea missed the lay-up.
Benjamin grabbed the rebound, and with the crowd screaming at the top of its collective lungs, dribbled over halfcourt, and with the buzzer sounding, swished his game-tying triple sending the Dexter fans into an unmitigated, ear-splitting frenzy and the contest into overtime.
"It was a great shot," Raymond said. "Johnny Benjamin is a great player."
In overtime, the Dreadnaughts outscored the Bulldogs 6-4 for the victory.
"It (triple at buzzer) took the life out of us," Raymond said. "But we were able to get a lead to start overtime. We came back as we have all season."
Regarding Benjamin's winning shot in overtime, Raymond said he might have defended the play differently if he could do it over again.
"I probably would have run a second guy at him to make him give it up," he said.
Besides his 24 points, Benjamin added seven assists and six rebounds.
Kuzon chipped in 12 points, while Fenske had 11 points, including three triples. Sophomore guard Ryan Lemasters finished with eight points, while Nati had four points for Dexter.
"We wanted to come in with intensity and play hard," Kuzon said of Dexter's key to victory. "We played soft the last time we played them."
Nati said the Dreadnaughts' perseverance was important to their win.
"We hung in there and we're able to capitalize at the end," he said.
Besides Schwarze's 20 points, Sauers had 17 points, including three triples and seven rebounds for Chelsea.
Hudson added 12 points, including three from beyond the arc, while junior forward Greg Rebudela had four points and Connell and Roberts two points each for the Bulldogs.
Chelsea had a season-high 11 three-pointers in the game.
At the line, the Bulldogs finished 10-of-20 for 50 percent. Dexter was 4-of-10 for 40 percent.
Last Monday, the Dreadnaughts began Class A state district play defeating Pinckney 70-45 at Jackson Northwest.
Fenske led Dexter with a season-high 29 points.
Nati added 11 points, while Lemasters had seven, junior center David Pisano six points, Kuzon five points and Benjamin four points.
Junior forward Kevin Novak had three points, while senior guard Scott Ruhlig and junior forward Don Knight each had two points and senior forward Matt Turley one point for the Dreadnaughts.
Dexter played South Lyon in a district semifinal game after press deadline. If successful, the Dreads would play the winner of Jackson-Ann Arbor Pioneer in the district final Saturday at 7 p.m.
On Feb. 27, host Dexter beat Tecumseh 61-29.
Fenske led the Dreadnaughts with 27 points, including eight three-pointers.
Kuzon had 13 points, while Benjamin had 10 points and nine assists.
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