There's no doubt Benet missed its 6-foot-8-inch center and one of its lead guards on Tuesday night at Wheaton North. Combined Joe Meyerhoff and Phil Hayes account for about 23 points per game. Benet's motion offense is predicated upon Meyerhoff's ability to pass out of the post to open 3-point shooters or cutters through the lane.
After a 72-64 loss that was still a one-possession game in the final minute, Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said Meyerhoff is day-to-day with an illness, but the hope is he will return for Friday's senior night game against Marian Catholic in Lisle.
Hayes meanwhile was in street clothes keeping stats and nursing what was called a foot fracture on Tuesday night. That must have been frustrating on two levels. The Redwings (10-13) saw its three-game winning streak snapped against a Wheaton North program (7-15) that's nearing the end of a down year. And it's another tough break for Hayes, who tore his ACL last year and missed half the season as well as summer ball.
"Phil - the earliest would be at the end of next week if everything went well and that's 50/50, (a) best-case scenario that he would be back this year," Heidkamp said. "If not, it's season-ending. (We're) disappointed because we were finally starting to play pretty well."
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