Guards leading Bengals through D-II playoffs

Fifth in a series breaking down teams from The News-Herald coverage area that are likely to make a deep run in the 2019 state tournament. • Record: 13-10 • Key players: Davin Zeigler, Sr. G, 20.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, Jashun Cobb, Jr., G, 12.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 spg, Andy Barba, Jr., G, 12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 42% 3FG

• Why Benedictine can make a run to state: Davin Zeigler, signed to play Division I basketball at Bowling Green next season, leads one of the state’s most dynamic group of guards. Zeigler may be the most athletic player in the area and is arguably the best dunker of any guard in Northeast Ohio. He’s electric off the bounce but is a reliable shooter from the perimeter and mid-range. He’s able to successfully defend multiple positions and can control games at each end of the floor. Alone, he makes the Bengals dangerous but Benedictine’s status as a contender is solidified by the players around him. Junior Andy Barba, a Miami (Ohio) commit, continued to develop this year. He’s one of the area’s top shooters, able to slash to the basket and a high-flyer around the rim in his own right. Junior Jashun Cobb is another dynamic athlete who ranked among the area leaders in steals and can attack the basket. Sophomore BJ Busbee emerged as a scoring option who can space the floor and knock down open shots. Junior Eric Buckner is an intelligent guard who adds secure ballhandling and shoots at a 40 percent clip from 3-point range. Underneath the basket, senior Rory Kilbane is a tenacious rebounder and drew a school-record 40 charges this season. Off the bench, Jakeith Scott-Choice and Kevin Bishop add offensive punch. After a regular season marked by injuries to players and coaches alike, everything seems to have finally fallen into place for the Bengals.

• What could hold Benedictine back: Focus is always a concern of coach Rob Stircula’s, an area that’s improved for Benedictine throughout the season. If the Bengals look to achieve their state expectations, a lapse in any stretch of games against top-tier competition can cost them.

• X-factor: Andy Barba’s 3-point shooting ability is the type of weapon that can kick Benedictine’s offense into overdrive. Zeigler and Cobb are so dangerous off the dribble that, if Barba is locked from the perimeter, their driving lanes widen. When defenders help off Barba to provide help defense near the basket, he’s often a sure bet to make them pay. At 6-foot6, the Miami (Ohio) commit doesn’t need much space to begin with as his high release point is near-unguardable by most smaller defenders.

• Biggest roadblock: If Benedictine advances past Aurora, the Bengals could meet Revere in the Stow District championship if the Minutemen defeat CVCA. After a 3-3 start, Revere has won 16 of its last 17 games and is playing excellent basketball in the year after Pete Nance’s graduation. At the regional level, the Bengals are lined up to play the winner of the Ashtabula District in a semifinal at Canton. That game could be against VASJ, a team Benedictine split its regular-season meeting against, or a Lake Catholic team led by Luka Eller and Luke Frazier.