Larkin can't catch up to Bartlett in UEC

The Bartlett boys basketball team was running hot before fans had time to warm their seats Friday.

In fact, the Hawks were stellar at the starts of both the first and third quarters of a 75-55 Upstate Eight Conference victory over visiting Larkin.

The win was the second in a row for Bartlett (10-5, 3-1). Larkin (7-8, 1-3) dropped its fifth straight.

Bartlett used a 12-0 run at the game's outset and a 10-3 run at the start of the third quarter to keep Larkin down by double-digit points most of the game.

"We've done a really good job the last seven or eight games of getting off to good starts," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We didn't do so well early in the season at that. Instead, we were getting bad shots, forcing shots, not finding a rhythm offensively or defensively and that hurt us.

"The last seven or eight games we've done a really good job in the first quarter of getting out there and looking for baskets and knocking them down."

The Hawks capitalized on bursts of Larkin turnovers to fuel both runs.

After Bartlett senior Larry Whitaker scored an inside basket to open the game, he followed with a steal Mike Banks converted into 2 easy transition points.

Banks scored another fast-break layup off a Labedzki steal, Whitaker tallied on a putback and Labedzki went coast to coast after yet another theft. Larkin paid for its fourth turnover in as many minutes when senior Donovan Coleman scored on a tip-in with 4:45 left in the first quarter to put Bartlett ahead 12-0. The Hawks led by as much as 25-8 early in the second period.

"We're really aggressive and we get teams to turn the ball over a lot," said Bartlett senior Luke Labedzki, who finished with a game-high of 20 points and 3 steals. "When that happens we get some points. We like to run. We just have to learn not to slow down after that, which happens a lot but we're working on it. We're getting better."

The Hawks were indeed slowed in the second quarter when Larkin perked up. The Royals outscored Bartlett 23-12 in the quarter behind 5 points from Jermaine Clements, 2 buckets from freshman Carlito Singleton and a pair of Ryan Smith 3-pointers, the second of which pulled the Royals within 32-27 with 1:13 to play in the first half.

However, that's as close to the lead as the Royals came after falling behind by 17 points early.

"It just kills us trying to get the energy up, trying to get a run to get back in there," said Larkin forward Garrett McDaniel, who led the Royals with 13 points. "And when we do it's just too much of a hole to get out of."

Leading 36-29 at halftime, Bartlett took complete control by outscoring the Royals 23-9 in the third quarter. On back-to back plays Frankie Cleope converted a Larkin turnover by finding Labedzki for a fast-break layup, and Coleman made a steal and scored on a breakaway to extend the Hawks' lead to 44-31 with 5:58 left in the third.

Bartlett grew the lead to 66-40 with five minutes to play.

The Royals were at a loss to explain their sluggishness at the start of each half.

"It must be something either we're saying as coaches, I don't know," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "Maybe we'll change up our talks. But you have to credit them. They came out ready to play in the first half and they came out ready to play in the second half. When you give them turnovers they just feast off that. It's hard to defend a point-guard turnover or a turnover on a pass to the wing."

Coleman scored 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, and Larry Whitaker and sophomore Matt Chaltin each contributed 9 points for Bartlett.