Larkin's dominance over Elgin continues
The Larkin boys basketball team parlayed its dominance on the glass into a new level of dominance in the crosstown series against rival Elgin with a 75-55 victory at Chesbrough Field House on Friday.
The taller Royals used their considerable height advantage to control the rebounding battle 39-22 and win their eighth straight against Elgin, thereby setting a record for consecutive Larkin victories in the series.
Elgin still holds the record for consecutive series wins with 11 and still leads the all-time series 79-48.
"It always feels good," Larkin 6-foot-5 senior Daniel McFadden said of defeating the Maroons, "especially since it's my last one. I'm so happy."
McFadden had reason to smile after pulling down 14 rebounds - 9 offensive - and leading all scorers with 20 points. His best quarter was the third, when he scored 8 points and snared 6 rebounds.
"I just tried to be aggressive on the boards and set the tone early with the boards," McFadden added. "Once we win the boards, we win the game, really."
Larkin's second straight win improved its record to 14-7 overall, 6-4 in the Upstate Eight Conference's River Division. Coach Deryn Carter said he was pleased with the way his team pounded the glass as part of an overall emphasis on playing with energy for all four quarters, an aspect of the game continually stressed in practice the past two weeks.
"The seven times we've been outrebounded we've lost. That's a huge stat," Carter said. "That's not a coincidence. We dominated on the glass. They're a little outsized so we should outrebound them, but I thought we maybe did better than what could be expected."
Elgin (6-18, 2-8) lost its third straight and 10th game in 11 outings, though the Maroons played the Royals to a near draw in the first quarter as Lavion Baldwin scored 8 points and junior wing Desmond Douglas added 6. Larkin led 19-16 after eight minutes, thanks to a late 3-pointer from junior guard Keyvon Kyles.
However, the Royals turned Elgin's cold second-quarter shooting (2 of 12) and 5 turnovers into fast-break opportunities that ignited a 15-0 run. Senior guard Charles Sanders supplied 6 points to fuel the surge, including a pair of transition layups. He credited Larkin's defense for sparking its offense.
"It all starts off with individuals accepting challenges," Sanders said. "Once we accept challenges individually, that's when we pick it up with our team defense."
Larkin led 44-25 at halftime and upped its lead to 28 points midway through the third quarter when Trelle Mardis sank a 3-pointer. It was Larkin's third shot of the possession and the last straw for Elgin coach Mike Sitter. Not pleased with the effort he was getting from his starters, he pulled them from the game with 4:25 left in the third quarter and did not reinsert some until late in the fourth quarter.
"There's absloutley no excuse to come out and play that well in the first five minutes of the game with that intensity and then just take a nose-dive," Sitter said. "I know we have three sophomores up and we play a lot of juniors, but, still, there is senior leadership in the team. If we can't sustain effort for 32 minutes, there's not a team on our schedule we can beat. And that was the case tonight.
"If we played that whole game like we did that first five minutes, we compete until the end. Maybe we don't win, but at least if feels good to compete and leave it all on the court."
Douglas and Baldwin each finished with 14 points to lead Elgin, which hosts St. Charles North on Thursday.
Sanders scored 10 points, 6-6 sophomore Christian Negron posted 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, 6-7 senior Tanner Gardon had 4 points and 9 rebounds and Mardis finished with 9 points for Larkin, which hosts West Chicago on Thursday.