St. Benedict's boys win Diocesan hoops crown

St. Benedict's varsity boys basketball team beat St. Vincent's of Elma, 43-24, in the Diocesan championship game last Wednesday night. St. Benedict's finished the season 34-1. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: first row - Patrick MacDonald, Jamal Davis, Joey Insalaco, Jimmy Croglio, Matt MacDonald, Bobby Graczyk, Colin Tenney and Marc DiLeo; second row - Anthony Miller, Frankie DiVito, Dylan Blujus, Brendan Tenney, Denzel Benton, Sam Insalaco; third row - coaches Kevin McCormack, Ty Benton, and Mike MacDonald.

A standing room only crowd of students and teachers with painted faces, and parents with green hair saw the St. Benedict's varsity boys basketball team complete an unbelievable season by beating St. Vincent's of Elma, 43-24, in the Diocesan championship game last Wednesday night.

The Tigers finished the season with a record of 34-1, going undefeated during the Diocesan season. During the course of the season, St. Benedict's won tournaments at Bishop-Timon St. Jude, St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, St. Mary's of Lancaster and Christ the King as well as the St. Benedict's Christmas Tournament.

The Tigers' only loss was in the finals of the Canisius High School Tip-Off Tournament to Westminster Charter School, 35-30.

In the Diocesan playoffs, St. Benedict's defeated St. Mary's of the Lake, 44-18; Mary Queen of Angels 38-24; and Northern Chautauqua Catholic, 39-11, on the way to the title game.

The Tigers were led in the playoffs by their eighth grade big men, Brendan Tenney and Dylan Blujus, who averaged 9.7 and 8.7 points per game, respectively.

Point guard Matt MacDonald averaged seven points per game during the four-game tournament, and shooting guard Sam Insalaco chipped in 5.2 points per game.

The Tigers also got scoring and terrific defense from eighth-graders Marc DiLeo, Jamal Davis and Frankie DiVito, and seventh-graders Denzel Benton and Jimmy Croglio in their march to the championship. Off the bench for St. Ben's was the eighth grade inside-outside combo of Anthony Miller and Bobby Graczyk, as well as sixth-graders Joey Insalaco, Patrick MacDonald and Colin Tenney, who contributed solid play all season long.

During the 2007-2008 school year, St. Benedict's has won a Diocesan championship in baseball and basketball.