Auburn falls one game short of state semifinals with lopsided loss in super sectionals
Auburn couldn’t force turnovers and struggled to grab a rebound as No. 1-ranked Lisle Benet ended the Knights’ season one game short of the state semifinals.
Benet rolled to a 67-31 victory Monday night at the Class 4A NIU super sectional.
Auburn got here by forcing more turnovers (13) than points allowed (12) until the final seconds before halftime in their sectional title victory. But Benet had only three turnovers in the first half and outrebounded Auburn 24-9 to open a 15-point lead.
Auburn did a great job of protecting the ball itself with only one first-half turnover. But outside of Rakim Chaney (3-for-6) and Adrian Agee (2-for-6) the rest of the Knights shot a combined 1-for-12 in the first half.
Any chance Auburn had then ended in the first two minutes of the second half. Benet (34-1) scored 10 quick points to open up a 40-15 lead. Auburn never got closer than 23 points again.
Auburn scored first on Chaney’s 3-pointer and took its last lead at 7-6 on a 17-foot pullup by Agee. The Knights trailed only 13-10 early in the second quarter, but Lisle then went on a 40-10 run to open up a 33-point lead.
Benet finished with a 42-15 rebounding edge. Both teams had only five turnovers.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's Auburn loses 4A IHSA super sectional against Lisle Benet
