Royals get a leg up on Maroons

Larkin junior Drew Simonini's first taste of the Elgin-Larkin rivalry will be one he won't soon forget.

Simonini hit two key 3-pointers in the final 3 minutes Friday night to help the Royals end a six-game losing streak to the cross-town Maroons with a 66-60 victory in the Upstate Eight Conference opener for both teams.

"I knew that I needed to shoot and score some points," said Simonini, who finished with 11 points. "It was a big game."

With the game tied 49-49 with just under 3 minutes, Jeff Saurbaugh drove the right baseline and kicked the ball out to Ryan Smith, who had already hit five 3-pointers. Smith passed on the shot and found Simonini in the left corner. The shot hit nothing but net to give Larkin (3-2) a 52-49 lead, an advantage it would not give up.

After a Joe Wade free throw cut the lead to 52-50, the Royals ran the same play with the same result, a Simonini 3-pointer with 2 minutes remaining.

"Drew hit two threes back-to-back and that gave us the momentum," said Saurbaugh, a senior who scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. "The crowd got back into it after that. It was great."

The Maroons (2-3) would get no closer than 3 the rest of the way.

"I told them before the game that this is the most prepared I've seen a Larkin team," Royals coach Larry Hight said. "They we upbeat. They were friends. There was camaraderie."

The teams were tied 25-25 at halftime. While the Royals had scoring balance with three players with at least 6 points, Elgin's offense was one player, Tom Roth. The senior had 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc. Roth, who entered averaging 18 points per game, finished with 35 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.

"I put a little too much pressure on Tommy, asking him to do too much," Maroons coach Mike Sitter said. "We needed some other players to step up and provide the same type of energy and some scoring."

Elgin grabbed a 33-30 lead with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, but the Royals responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2 minutes to take a 39-33 lead. Larkin went 7-for-11 from the field in the quarter to take a 43-39 into the fourth quarter.

Smith's fifth 3-pointer with 6:39 left in the fourth gave the Royals a 46-41 lead. Roth hit two free throws and Mike Richard hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 46-46. A basket from Terell John gave the Royals the lead again. Roth then hit all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt as the Maroons went up 1, 49-48. Ramadon Adili hit 1 of 2 free throws for the Royals to tie the game and set up Simonini's key 3-pointers. Larkin hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

"It's great," Saurbaugh said. "This is the loudest I've heard this gym in a couple years."

Smith led the Royals with 19 points. Brandon Cooks added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After Roth's 35, the next Maroons player had 7, that coming from Aleks Kanlic.