Jayden Wright leads Benet past undefeated Curie, into Pontiac title game

Jayden Wright started for Benet’s Class 4A state championship team last season and was one of the best players in the title game. The senior is a well-known and respected player in the area but over the past month he’s taken his game to completely new level.

“He’s a little bit underrated,” Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp said. “Not in my eyes. More has been asked of him this season and he’s embraced the role. His job is to do whatever it takes to win. He’s multi-dimensional and he can hurt a team in many ways.”

Wright finished with 23 points and six assists in Benet’s 74-41 win against undefeated Curie in the semifinals of the 94th Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

“[Wright] just controlled the whole game,” Condors coach Mike Oliver said.

Wright had 15 points and 10 assists in Benet’s quarterfinal win against Peoria Manual on Tuesday. He isn’t worried that the rest of the area hasn’t quite realized that he’s one of the state’s best guards.

“I’m not going to say too much,” Wright said. “It doesn’t really matter. I just want to win games and play the best we can as a team.”

Benet led 31-15 at halftime. Curie cut the lead to 38-30 after Condors senior Justin Oliver scored 12 points in one minute of play.

“We got right there in striking distance and then we missed some free throws and [Benet’s Ryan Walsh] hit a three and that was about it,” Mike Oliver said.

Edvardas Staysas, a 6-8 junior, added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Redwings (16-1). Colin Stack added nine points and eight rebounds.

Justin Oliver led Curie (10-1) with 20 points.

Benet will face DePaul Prep in the tournament championship game on Wednesday at 9 p.m. The Redwings are 0-6 in Pontiac title games and have lost the last three. Heidkamp was the coach in all of those games.

“We really want to get the title for him tonight,” Wright said. “He’s the best coach in the state and a great guy. He’s a big reason why I came to Benet. We would love to get the championship for him. We are going to try our hardest and leave it all out on the court.”