Pontiac: Joliet West starts to walk the talk in win over Benet

PONTIAC — Joliet West junior Trevian Bell dropped some big talk after the Tigers beat Plainfield North in the first round of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Tuesday.

“Our goal here is the championship, nothing less than that,” Bell said. “And our goal this season is the state championship. We are all young but we have the experience that we need.”

That’s the kind of thing you expect to hear from players at Simeon, Curie and Peoria Manual. But Joliet West just might have enough talent to play with the traditional powerhouse programs this season.

Bell and his teammates took the first step towards backing up the big talk by beating Benet 59-53 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Bell scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Teyvion Kirk, Joliet West’s other known quantity, scored 18.

The story of the game was 6-4 junior Elijah Ward. Tigers coach Nick DiForti calls him the team’s “x-factor” and Ward has more than lived up to that nickname in the first two games of the tournament. He was aggressive and efficient against Benet, scoring 19 points while shooting 8-for-9 from the field.

Joliet West is loaded with talented young underclassmen. Sophomores Eddie Creal and Michael Smith have played well this season and juniors Tabyous Casterberry and Jason Bingham are already major difference-makers for the Tigers (9-1).

James Dockery led Benet (9-2) with 19 points and Daniel Sobelewski added 13 points and 10 rebounds.