By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Benton boys had been idle for a full week, coming off of a 45-36 loss to Center.
Entering Wednesday's district semifinal against Maryville, the Cardinals were a little sluggish to start, trailing 13-4 after the first and then 27-13 at halftime.
Then, something changed.
"We just talked at halftime and we said we have to push the floor more and get them tired and wear them out," said junior Kason Mauzey, who scored 17 points after getting hurt in last Wednesday's game.
"We thought we were in better shape than them. We just had to push the ball and beat them down the court."
No. 2 seed Benton (13-11) outscored Maryville 39-21 in the second half and flipped the game on its head in a 53-48 win over the Spoofhounds (14-8) in front of a raucous Springer Gym in a Class 4 District 16 semifinal.
For Cardinals' coach Gary Belcher, the home environment made a tangible difference.
"What we experienced tonight is why we need people in the building," he said. "The atmosphere was tremendous and our kids fed off of that."
The Spoofhounds brought their legions of supporters too, and the team fed off of that early. Maryville raced out to a 6-0 start and forced Benton to miss five of their first six shots.
Benton woke up a bit in the second quarter, going on a 9-2 run to pull within 18-13, but the Spoofhounds answered with a 9-0 spurt to take a 14-point lead into halftime.
Staring down the barrel of a four-game losing streak to end the season, Belcher and his guys didn't panic, but rather regrouped at halftime.
"We just talked about the things we didn't do well in the first half and things we had to get better at in the second," Belcher said. "It was on them, and I told them that after the game. It was all about them. Their will just kind of took over, and the energy started, and it snowballed from there."
Benton juniors Richard Coy III and Carlson Newlon each made three-pointers, while Mauzey scored six hard earned points in the paint in the third quarter.
Suddenly, Benton was only down 35-29 entering the fourth.
"It was a good feeling," Newlon said, "just pushing the ball. I mean, being down 14 at halftime, no one wants to do that. But, we knew we could come back and win. We just had to push the floor. Our teammates were getting the ball out to us."
The Cardinals kept their foot on the gas, starting the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 39 with 5:28 to play, marking the first tie since the game's beginning.
Benton led by as many as seven, but Maryville battled back on a couple of possessions to stay within striking distance. Senior and Northwest football signee Marc Gustafson scored six points in the fourth quarter alone, while sophomore Caeden Stoecklein made a corner three to make it 52-48 with 28.8 remaining.
Already in the bonus, Benton continued to make free throws. The Cardinals made their first 14 attempts from the foul line, and wound up going 15-of-19 on the night.
"When you're trying to protect the lead and put the game away, that's what you have to do," Belcher said on the free throws.
After playing (and beating) Maryville for a third time this season, Benton will get a different rematch in Friday's 6 p.m. district championship when they play at Richmond.
The Spartans (21-3) took down Chillicothe 63-44 Wednesday in the other semifinal.
Benton hung with Richmond in St. Joseph just 11 days ago, but the Spartans prevailed 50-45.
Looking to build off the momentum from Wednesday's thrill ride, the Cardinals are grateful for the chance to play another game.
"If the guys bring the same energy Friday, we'll have a chance," Belcher said, "and I think they will, because they're pretty excited in that locker room."
Benton 53 - 4, 10, 15, 24
Maryville 48 - 13, 14, 8, 13
Benton scorers - Carlson Newlon - 20, Kason Mauzey - 17, Richard Coy III - 7, Adrian Byrd - 5, Denver Domann - 2, Peyton Frasher - 2
Maryville scorers - Marc Gustafson - 15, Caden Stoecklein - 13, Spencer Willnerd - 8, Keaton Stone - 6, Caleb Kreizinger - 4, Trey Houchin - 2
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.