Jack Benter Survives Wild Semi-State Semifinal

It is semi-state Saturday in Indiana, and Purdue's lone in-state commit for 2024 is still alive in the Class 2A tournament. No. 1 ranked Brownstown Central played No. 8 Park Tudor this morning in the semi-state at Southport and Jack Benter had a huge role in keeping his team alive.

With the game tied 49-49 and roughly 90 seconds left Benter drove the lane and drew the defense to himself. He dumped off to teammate Colby Hall, who was fouled on the layup attempt. Hall hit one of two free throws, then Park Tudor held for the final shot. Hudson Horvath missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer to send Benter and Brownstown to the championship game 50-49.

I had Benter with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists as he had a solid all-around game. This was the first time I had seen him in person since last year's semi-state and the difference was stark. When Brownstown lost in last year's semi-state final it trailed much of the game and Benter tried to do everything by himself for large portions of the second half.

Today was different. He was much better at getting his teammates involved. He finished 6 of 13 from the floor without hitting a three-pointer on the day. Several of his baskets were 15-foot midrange shots, much like Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer currently take.

But his passing is what stood out. He regularly drove the lane only to find wide open shooters in the corners. Parker Hehman and Chace Coomer were the main beneficiaries here. They combined to go 5 of 15 from three, and several of the misses were wide open looks created by Benter drawing the defense to him before passsing.

He was also challenged on defense. Park Tudor played a full-court man defense that harrassed Brownstown into 11 turnovers. The final was a steal and score by KJ Mark with 1:49 left just after Park Tudor had scored to cut the lead to two. That tied the game at 49-49 and set up the finish.

I spoke with Jack after the game about the difference from this year to next in his passing.

Benter will play against Parke Heritage tonight at 8pm at Southport for a trip tot he state finals in two weeks. There is a one week delay in the state finals this year since Gainbridge Fieldhouse is hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Parke Heritage is 24-56, but one of their losses was a 19 point loss to the same Park Tudor team Brownstown just beat.

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