Cadets blast Cougars

Collegiate's collective response to its matinee visit to Benedictine required but two words:

Oh, Brothers!

Darien Brothers, Benedictine's wiry senior guard, scored 29 points, 23 during an incandescent first half, to lead the Cadets to a 77-32 blowout yesterday afternoon.

The game began at 5 p.m. to allow Collegiate forward Jake McGee to attend last night's All-Metro football banquet.

Brothers rode the cutting edge of a Benedictine press that sliced and diced the Cougars, ranked No. 7 in the Times-Dispatch Top 10, with merciless efficiency in the second period.

He crammed 15 points into the final 5:14 of the first half, in the process enabling the No. 10 Cadets (12-7) to transform a four-point lead after one quarter into a 43-15 advantage at the break.

"I think there was some pride involved," Brothers said. "Coach [Sean McAloon] told us about the state [VIS Division I] poll that had Collegiate fourth and us eighth. We felt like we had something to prove."

McAloon, Brothers said, "told us to put it on 'em -- and we did."

Are the Cadets 45 points better than the Cougars, with whom they are vying for a berth in the VIS playoffs? Perhaps not. But yesterday, they arrived with a conspicuously higher level of intensity, and sustained it longer, than did their visitors from the far West End.

Collegiate (11-5) scored only two points during a grisly stretch that began with 40 seconds remaining in the first period and ended with 1:18 elapsed in the third.

"Give them credit. It was all about them. They played outstanding," Collegiate coach Alex Peavy said. "They brought a level of energy that we just didn't respond to. The question now, for us, is: Can we take something positive out of this? How will we respond in practice tomorrow? How will we respond the next time we play?"

Brothers was not the Cadets' only hero. Guard Brandan Connor scored 16 points, and guard R.J. Price added 10. Both delivered a pair of 3-pointers.

Connor, who missed a big chunk of the season while recuperating from a broken wrist, is an intuitive rebounder who scored seven points on second-chance opportunities.

McAloon said: "What you saw from [Connor] tonight is what we've been counting on since Day One."

McGee, who arrived at Benedictine with a 21.5-point scoring average, led the Cougars with seven points. Brothers primarily was responsible for defending the Collegiate star.

McGee fared better at the banquet. There, he was saluted as the All-Metro team's second-team quarterback.

Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442 or .

COLLEGIATE (11-5)

Corrigan 6, T. Kelley 4, C. Kelley 2, Wiltshire 2, Franz 2, Foley 2, Gottschalk 2, Stites 2, McGee 7, Foster 1, Agee 2. Totals 13 5-6 32.
BENEDICTINE (12-7)

Moody 3, Brothers 29, Gill 7, Connor 16, Lukish 4, Price 10, Thurston 6, Shaheen 0, Tiller 2, Pilot 0. Totals 25 9-15 77.
Collegiate ------------------------- 13 2 8 9 -- 32
Benedictine ------------------------- 17 26 20 14 -- 77

3-point goals: C -- McGee. B -- Connor 2, Price 2, Brothers, Gill.