Like a sleeping giant awakened, Benet’s Edvardas Stasys can’t be stopped by Bolingbrook. ‘A huge difference.’

At halftime of the Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional championship game on Friday night, Edvardas Stasys hadn’t attempted a shot, and Benet trailed the host Raiders.

That changed midway through the third quarter, when the 6-foot-8 junior forward’s first shot resulted in a three-point play that put the defending state champion Redwings ahead for good.

“In the first half, I wasn’t getting too many open looks,” Stasys said. “I don’t have to force it. I’ve got a bunch of great players around me, so I let them handle it, and then in the second half I knew I had to step up a bit more.”

Stasys ended up scoring 13 points in the final 12 minutes as Benet defeated Bolingbrook 51-44.

“We talked at halftime,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “It was a point of emphasis. We’ve got to get Ed going. He’s a big part of our team. He made a huge difference down the stretch. He made winning plays all the way through.”

Stasys also had eight rebounds for the Redwings (34-1), who are ranked No. 1 in 4A in the poll by The Associated Press, have won 31 games in a row and will play Rockford Guilford or Rockford Auburn in the NIU Supersectional at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Junior guard Perry Tchiegne added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals against the Raiders (24-8), and senior guard Jayden Wright, an Eastern Illinois recruit, had nine points and four assists.

Freelance reporter Matt Le Cren contributed. This story will be updated.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/4a-high-school-basketball-bolingbrook-benet-edvardas-stasys/