Larkin overcomes Elgin's upset bid
The Elgin boys basketball team gave rival Larkin a scare on the city's west side Monday night, but the Royals survived and advanced with a 59-54 victory at the Class 4A Larkin regional.
In a gutty effort to snap a 12-game losing streak against No. 5 Larkin (16-14), No. 8 Elgin (16-14) recovered from a 27-18 halftime deficit by forcing 7 third-quarter turnovers to draw within 41-37.
Elgin tied the game at 46-46 with 5:47 left on a steal and breakaway layup by senior guard Reggie Cole, who would twice put the Maroons ahead by a point with transition buckets. Cole's layup with 3:47 remaining staked Elgin to its last lead.
However, the Royals responded with a 7-0 run to regain control.
After junior Jalen Shaw split 2 free throws to knot the score at 50-50, junior guard Anthony Lynch scored off an Elgin turnover with 2:07 to play to put Larkin ahead.
Another Elgin turnover led to Kindrel Morris' transition basket and a 54-50 Larkin lead with 1:38 to play. Lynch was later fouled and sank 2 free throws to complete the run with 58 seconds left. Larkin sank 13 of 18 fourth-quarter free throws to prevail.
"It's a tied game and we have a missed layup and we have 2 turnovers by a sophomore point guard," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "You're not going to win games like that turning it over late, so they deserved the victory."
Why was Larkin better in the fourth quarter than in the third?
"We slowed down, we took our time and let the game come to us, not trying to make the hero plays down the stretch," said Morris, who scored all 6 of his points in the fourth quarter. "We took care of the ball."
The victory advances Larkin to a regional semifinal against No. 3 Prairie Ridge (20-7) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Shaw was a big reason the Royals advanced. The 6-foot-10 junior finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks.
"He was high level today, no question about it, and in all phases: offensive, defensive and on the glass," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "If he keeps playing like that the rest of the week, we've got a chance to get some hardware."
Shaw said the familiar environment helped the Royals stabilize themselves late in a tumultuous second half.
"I think we lost track a little bit when we started messing up," Shaw said, "but we've got to keep the energy on the bench going, keep the energy on the court going, We had a great crowd giving us motivation and we were playing our hardest."
Lynch led the Royals with 19 points while Pierre Black and Kashmir Ivy contributed 6 points apiece.
In his final game in an Elgin uniform, senior Courtese Cooper finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, 11 of which he collected in the second half. Dan Toolsie finished with 10 points before fouling out.