Cooks' shot lifts Larkin to win
Senior Brent Cooks gave Larkin an early Christmas gift Thursday.
Cooks helped Larkin snap its 11-game losing streak when he nailed the game-winning shot at the buzzer to defeat Willowbrook, 54-52, in the 36th annual Elgin Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament.
It notched the Royals (3-11) their first win since November 24 and prevented them from placing last at Elgin, while disallowing the Warriors (0-12) their first win of the season.
Willowbrook called for time trailing 52-49 with 7.8 remaining after Larkin's Ian Fluhlur split 2 free throws. Off the timeout, the Warriors worked into the right corner where an open Tiger Greene sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left.
Royals coach Deryn Carter believed his team “had the game in hand” prior to Greene's shot, but had to draw up a last-second shot for Cooks.
Along the baseline, Cam Ross found a cutting Fluhlur, who gunned it down court to Cooks. He took one dribble inside the 3-point line on the right wing and let it fly just before the buzzer went off.
Cooks' eyes exploded once the ball rattled in. He fist pumped once before being mobbed by his teammates, happy to end the 11-game skid.
“It feels good,” said Cooks, who finished with 9 points, including a huge 3 midway through the fourth. “But it's not really about the win, it's about us playing together. We played together and got the win.”
“It was a great screen by Cam, a great pass by Ian,” Carter said. “You don't make a last-second shot like that because of one guy and it was a team effort. It was good that they responded after giving up a 3. It's good to get (the win); we'll take it however we can get it. But its good to get it in the last game to give us a good taste in our mouth.”
Larkin in the second half was a completely different team after trailing at halftime 29-17. A couple of baskets by Blake Grantham (11 points, 7 rebounds) and Fluhlur (17 points, 5 rebounds) cut Willowbrook's lead to 5 two minutes into the third quarter.
The Royals outscored the Warriors 20-8 in the third but found themselves down again by 6 with under four minutes in the fourth. Grantham's layup and free throw cut the lead to 3 then Quantice Hunter tied it at 45 on a 3 from the right corner with 3:02 left.
Then it was Cooks in the clutch. He nailed a 3 in the left wing with 2:09 and Larkin never trailed after.
The Royals shot a hot 47 percent in the second half, hitting four from downtown, and limited the turnovers to just 5. It was a far cry from their first half shooting of 20 percent and 12 turnovers. Willowbrook outrebound Larkin 41-34 with 19 offensive rebounds, but went extremely cold missing 18 shots and shooting 35 percent.
“Hopefully we start understanding it,” Carter said. “At least we have something positive to build on, so we're happy.”
Willowbrook's Cherrik Thrower led the Warriors with 16 points and 9 rebounds.