The Lions won their sixth straight game to improve to 12-2 overall and 8-0 in the Central League. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Aces and dropped them to 8-4 and 5-3.

Benson, a sturdy 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior guard, scored 15 points, including 11 straight during a crucial stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and start of the third quarter.

“We rode Sean during that stretch,” said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle. “We sat him for a minute in the first half to try to calm him down.”

It worked.

“They just said to catch your breath,” Benson said. “I had to relax myself.”

Benson, a returning starter on a veteran team that reached the PIAA Class 5A semifinals last season, is averaging 13 points per game and scored a career-high 25 in a loss to Bonner-Prendergast earlier this season. He displayed his ability to score on all three levels on Thursday night, making a variety of difficult shots including several floaters that found nothing but net.

“I just have to find ways to score,” Benson said.

Benson also brings a toughness to the basketball court that he honed on the football field, where last season he earned first-team all-Central League honors as a running back and second-team all-Central League honors as a defensive back in helping to lead his team to an 8-4 season that included a win in the District I 5A playoffs.

“He’s an absolute spark for us,” said 6-foot-7 senior forward Mikey Mata, who led all scorers with 18 points. “He’s the best at getting to the rim, and he’s a great defender – he always guards the other team’s best offensive player. I love having him on our team.”

Doyle is also a fan.

“He’s an amazing kid,” he said.

Doyle laments the fact that Benson isn’t being recruited to play basketball at the collegiate level because he didn’t play on the AAU circuit due to his commitment to football and in the weight room.

“He’s a PSAC-level player,” Doyle said. “Not one college coach has called.”

Benson said that he hasn’t yet decided which sport he would like to pursue in college. For now, that choice can wait. He is enjoying playing his final season of high school basketball, especially on nights like Thursday.

Penncrest forced three consecutive Lower Merion turnovers to start the game and took a 4-0 lead before Aces coach Gregg Downer called a timeout to settle his team. By the end of the first quarter, Lower Merion had a 13-11 lead.

“We told them to expect a playoff atmosphere,” Doyle said. “Gregg is the best coach in the state. We knew he would have us well-scouted and have his team ready.”

The Aces made six 3-pointers in the first half to take a 30-27 lead into intermission.

“We had to take away the threes,” Doyle said.

So, in the second half, Doyle instructed his players not to help on defense so they wouldn’t give the Aces open looks from the perimeter. It worked.

“We’re a really, really good defensive team,” Doyle said.

Penncrest held Lower Merion scoreless for nearly six minutes to begin the second half as the Lions took a 34-30 lead before Aces junior guard Kyle Parrish, who led his team with 13 points, scored in the lane.

Lower Merion pulled within 38-35 at the end of the third quarter, but Benson scored on a putback and then another floater to begin the fourth quarter and to push the lead to 42-35. On a veteran team that features an all-senior starting lineup, Mata, Benson and fellow senior Connor Cahill, who finished with 13 points, combined for 46 of 55 points for Penncrest.

Doyle, who is in his 23rd year as the head coach of the Lions, has accomplished just about everything during his tenure at Penncrest. Until Thursday night, however, he said that he had never defeated Lower Merion at Lower Merion.

“As crazy as it sounds,” Doyle said, “it was my first win ever here.”

The team celebrated afterwards. Defeating Lower Merion, especially on their homecourt, is never easy. The last time the teams met, in last season’s Central League championship game, Penncrest came up short.

“It’s a huge win,” Mita said. “We need to keep the momentum going.”

~~~

By Quarter

Penncrest (12-2, 8-0): 11 | 16 | 11 | 17 || 55

Lower Merion (8-4, 5-3): 13 | 17 | 5 | 10 || 45 

Scoring

Penncrest: Mikey Mita 18, Sean Benson 15, Connor Cahill 13, Will Stanton 5, Orion Kolleh 4.

Lower Merion: Kyle Parrish 13, Bereket Darsenie 9, Will Yard 6, Darius Mitchell 5, Finn Pulsifer 4, Colin Beck 3, Arjay Miller 3, Nick Dragut 2.