Barracks to the rescue for Larkin

Larkin forward Anthony Barracks did not get a lot of minutes in the Royals' first two games this season.

So when center Terell John picked up his third foul early in the second quarter of Larkin's game against Woodstock Friday, it was up to Barracks to fill the void.

The senior made the most of his opportunity, leaving Woodstock center Casey Sewall ineffective for much of the second half. Larkin limited Woodstock to 16 second-half points and took a 51-47 victory at the Hoops for Healing boys basketball tournament in Belvidere.

"Anthony held that guy in check," Larkin coach Larry Hight said. (Sewall) was manhandling us. (Barracks) caused about four or five turnovers. He came to play today and that was the key."

John's free-throwing shooting played a key role in the victory. John (11 points, 2 steals) nailed both shots of a 1-and-1 with 14.6 seconds left to give Larkin (2-1) a 51-47 lead. The free throws came after Woodstock's Derek Brown jacked a 3-pointer to bring the Blue Streaks (0-3) within 49-47 with 16.5 remaining.

Drew Simonini also made a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to put Larkin ahead 49-44, but it was the defensive effort that stood out the most.

Sewall (17 points) gave Woodstock a 14-13 lead after scoring 10 points in the first quarter. In the first minute of the second period, John picked up his second and third fouls to force Hight to call on Barracks. Sewall scored just 7 points in the rest of the game and went 3 of 8 from the floor after starting off 5 of 6 in the first quarter.

"I came to play," said Barracks, who finished with 4 points and a block. "We played good defense in the second half."

Woodstock led 31-28 at the half, thanks in large part to a 17-point second quarter.

Jeff Saurbaugh finished with 6 assists and 7 points and Ryan Smith and Brandon Cooks had 9 points each for Larkin, which concludes the tournament at 3 p.m. Saturday against Cary-Grove. That game will be at Woodstock High School.