Benson lifts Panthers over Pioneers at buzzer

• Aaron Benson hit a game-winning putback as time expired Monday night to lift SE to a win over ZT.
• Benson scored 12 points and grabbed six boards while Zach Bodary led the Panthers with 16 points.
• Isaac Beam was Zane Trace's leading scorer with 14 points while Nick Nesser ended the night with 11.

WAVERLY - Southeastern coach Andy Slaughter had one simple message for Aaron Benson at the conclusion of Monday night's Division III sectional semifinal contest against Zane Trace.

When Slaughter approached his senior forward near midcourt, he yelled, "That's how you crash the boards!"

And he made a good point.

With 7.7 seconds left on the game clock and the contest tied 43-43, the Panthers called timeout and drew up a play that was designed to get senior guard Rex Hartman the basketball.

The plan worked ... just not the way the Panthers (6-17) thought it would.

Hartman's shot bounced off the iron, onto the backboard and into Benson's hands. With less than two seconds remaining, Benson put up a shot that rolled around the rim and finally fell, lifting SE to victory and effectively ending ZT's season.

"We've been really talking about crashing the boards this week," a smiling Benson said. "We've been getting tired and gassed in the fourth quarter and (Slaughter) has been preaching to box out and get the rebound. That was the last thing on my mind when Rex put up the shot. I knew if it wasn't going in, I had to have a chance to go up and get it. It was a mix between me following (Slaughter's) words and being in the right place at the right time."

The buzzer-beater was the Panthers' third this season — Hartman beat Westfall twice earlier on game-winners.

"I'll tell you right now, we called Aaron Benson playing well this morning in our shootaround," Slaughter said. "I called him over and told him, 'Hey, that Aaron Benson right there? That's the Aaron Benson I want to see tonight.' And it was. We've seen flashes of it all season, just maybe not for an entire game. Tonight, (Benson) put it all together. He played a whale of a game."

SE took its first lead of the night at 7-4 with 3:59 left in the first quarter when Ethan Smith dialed long distance. Hartman ended the first with a 3 and 2-of-3 from the free throw line, stretching SE's lead to 19-13.

In the second, the Pioneers (8-15) countered.

Trailing 23-19, ZT's Drew Rittenhouse nailed a triple before scoring with 45.3 left in the half, forcing a 25-25 tie at the break.

In the third, the Pioneers continued to make it look as if they'd be sneaking into a sectional final.

With a 31-29 lead, Isaac Beam got back-to-back field goals to fall before Cameron Evans scored two straight just before the start of the fourth, putting the Pioneers on top 39-34.

But the Panthers wouldn't go away.

Zach Bodary — whose performance was overshadowed by Benson's game-winner — tied the game at 41 with 4:11 to go. He then hit a jumper to force a 43-43 tie with 1:25 remaining.

Then Benson played the hero role.

"Zach did an excellent job for us tonight," Slaughter said. "We always tell him not to fade when shooting. He sometimes has that tendency to use his athletic ability to get away from the defender. But we tell him to attack the basket and finish. We called a play for him to force that tie and he hit the shot and said, 'Coach, I didn't fade away.' When we do the things we're coached to do, we can be really good. It's a tribute to our kids. We put things together, listened and won on a big stage tonight."

Bodary led all scorers with 16 points and collected nine rebounds while Benson finished with 12 points and six boards. Harman, Smith and Lane Ruby all scored five points apiece.

For the Pioneers, Beam led the way with 14 points and five rebounds while Nick Nesser ended the evening with 11 points. Rittenhouse and Evans finished with six points while Evans also grabbed three rebounds.

While the Pioneers pack up their things for the final time, the Panthers will head to a Division III sectional final against Lynchburg-Clay at 6 p.m., Friday at Waverly's Downtown Gym.

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Stat Book

Southeastern: 19-6-9-11 — 45

Zane Trace: 13-12-14-4 — 43

Southeastern: 16-38 FG, 11-15 FT, 2-12 3pt. (Hartman 1, Smith 1), 26 rebounds (Bodary 9), 11 turnovers, 6 Assists (Smith 3). Scoring: Bodary 8 0-0 16, Benson 3 6-8 12, Smith 2 0-0 5, Ruby 1 3-4 5, Hartman 1 2-3 5, Wheeler 1 0-0 2.

Zane Trace: 17-40 FG, 8-16 FT, 1-9 3pt. (Rittenhouse 1), 20 rebounds (Beam 5), 8 turnovers, 6 Assists (Shanton 2, Beam 2). Scoring: Beam 4 6-8 14, Nesser 5 1-2 11, Evans 3 0-2 6, Rittenhouse 2 1-2 6, O'Dell 2 0-0 4, Shanton 1 0-2 2.