Tim is anything but Tiny
Under-the-radar senior leads Holy Cross to win over Boys & Girls

When opponents scout Holy Cross, they first zero in on Sylven Landesberg, the Catholic league’s reigning leading scorer two years running. The next targets are explosive Division 1 talents Kayvon Roberts and Blaise Ffrench.
Tim Beinert is lucky if he is included in the scouting report. Holy Cross would like to keep it that way. Consider him their best kept secret.
Again, the Virginia-bound Landesberg led the way in the Knights’ double overtime 78-73 victory over PSAL power Boys & Girls in the Big Apple Challenge at Baruch College last Saturday night, earning MVP honors with 29 points and 20 rebounds. Ffrench and Roberts, likewise, provided secondary scoring, tallying 18 and 13 points, respectively.
However, it was Beinert (nine points, 10 rebounds, four steals), who made all the clutch plays.
“Tim,” Landesberg said, “should’ve been the MVP of that game.”
It was the 6-foot-5 Beinert, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to start the second extra session; Beinert, who tipped an offensive rebound to Landesberg for a big basket down the stretch; Beinert, who drew the fifth and final foul on Kangaroos’ point guard Clayton Sterling.
Moreover, it was Beinert who made all the plays that did not make it to the score sheet - tipped rebounds, help defense, solid screens, and extra passes — that swung momentum back in the Knights’ favor.
“He was the difference in the game for us tonight,” said Cross Coach Paul Gilvary, also noting the contributions of inexperienced reserves Felix Llanos, Sharif Mair and Tyshawn Russell in double overtime when starters Roberts, Ffrench and Ernest Freeman fouled out. “He’s a big part of our team because he’s a big guy who can handle the ball, he can shoot from the perimeter, he’s a good passer and he’s a smart player.
“A kid like that,” he continued, “will help any team and certainly we’re a better team when he is on the floor.”
Lost in last year’s CHSAA Class ‘AA’ intersectional loss to St. Raymond’s, a devastating defeat in which Cross blew a 19-point lead, was the fact that Beinert barely played. Suffering back spasms late in the year, he was unable to contribute much in the postseason. If he was in that game, the result may have been different.
“He’s like having another coach on the court,” Gilvary said. “You always feel good when he’s out there.”
Last year’s experience drove home an important point to Beinert regarding fitness. He dedicated himself to losing weight in the off season — 35 pounds to be exact — by running two miles a day and lifting weights like never before. He entered preseason lighter, quicker on his feet, more agile.
“I’m way more athletic,” Beinert said. “I played the whole game [Saturday]. If that was last year, I would never be able to do that.”
Holy Cross, of course, will go only as far as Landesberg and, to a lesser extent Ffrench and Roberts, can take them. But maybe, just maybe, Beinert will provide the nudge that was missing last March.
In an early-season test, he certainly supplied the necessary ingredients to get them over the hump.