Origins and Honors
Coach Ty Platt calls Kyle Benge a "multi-faceted player" with the ability to score in the paint as well as from the perimeter. He demonstrated that ability throughout his four-year career, as well as an ability to draw in the defense and provide assists.
Kyle came to Huntington from Plymouth HS (Plymouth, IN) where he led his team to the Class 3A State Finals. Along the way, he broke Scott Skiles high school scoring record, finishing with 1,979 career points.
As a freshman, Benge was named to the all-MCC Newcomer Team, and he has been an All-MCC Conference player each of the past two seasons. He was a team captain the past two years and was instrumental in many of the Forester wins this season.
The First Three Years
Kyle started in at least one game every year he played at Huntington. In his freshman year, he appeared in 37 games, averaging 10.2 points and 2.7 assists a game.
Benge scored 20 points in the first game of his college career and then matched the same point production in the last game of his first season at the NAIA Tournament.
During his sophomore year, injuries kept him sidelined part of the season, limiting him to just 25 games. Nonetheless, he scored in double figures 14 times that year and set career highs of 27 points and 10 free throws in the game at Indiana Tech.
In his junior year, Kyle started 26 of the 32 games and played in every one, averaging 13.7 points and 2.8 assists a game. He led the team that season with 42 three-point field goals, scoring 20 points or more in six games, while providing five or more assists in seven games that season.
Kyle's Senior Year
His senior year proved to be his best. Kyle led the team in scoring this past season with 18.7 points per game, setting a career high of 31 points versus Grace, along with a career-high 11 field goals.
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He shot 48.7% from the field as a senior, making 38.0% of his field goal attempts from three-point range. In the game at Indiana Tech, Kyle put in four three-point field goals. It was the fifth time in his college career that he made four in one game.
Later in the season, Benge shot a career high 11 of 11 free throws versus Marian. It wasn’t the only time he had not missed a free throw; he was perfect at the free throw line in 15 games this season.
Kyle was the leading scorer in 15 of the 32 games for the Foresters; he was leading rebounder in two games; he pulled in five rebounds or more in seven games.
Note that the increased scoring in Kyle’s senior year did not come at the expense of assists. He had 142 assists this season, which was tops on the HU roster.
Benge averaged 4.4 assists per game and had a career high 11 assists in two games this season. Kyle also had 10 assists in two other games this past year. In fact, he led the team in assists in 14 of the 32 games. He had four point-assist double doubles.
The Four-Year Career
Over his four-year career, Kyle averaged 13.2 points a game, scoring 1,659 points in his 126 games as a Forester. That total puts him at #15 on the all-time scoring list.
In four years, Kyle made 560 field goals, including 164 three-point shots, and scored 375 points at the free throw line. His 83.3% career free throw percentage ranks him among the best at HU (the Huntington record for career free throws is 88.6%).
During his college career at Huntington, Benge provided 381 assists, made 88 steals and pulled down 234 rebounds.
Off to the future
Benge is majoring in elementary/special education at Huntington and expects to be teaching in a classroom next year.
He’s certainly been a winner at Huntington. Applying the same dedication to his chosen field will make him a winner there too.
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Kyle Benge
#12 - Kyle Benge
Kyle Benge
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