Larkin tops Wheaton North

The shot didn't give Larkin the lead over Wheaton North, just the impetus to take it.

Larkin senior guard Jeff Saurbaugh admitted he probably got away with traveling just before he launched and connected on a 50-footer at the end of the first half, a basket that pulled the Royals within 35-31 at intermission.

That 3-pointer focused the Larkin players at halftime, according to coach Larry Hight, allowing him to more easily reinforce the strategy that led ultimately to Larkin's 75-68 victory over the Falcons at the 34th Elgin Holiday Tournament on Tuesday.

"I had their attention at halftime, they were there," Hight said. "If (Saurbaugh) doesn't make that, it's hard to get that attention at halftime as to what we have to do."

Larkin's plan was to limit the touches of 6-foot-6, 225-pound Wheaton North senior Zach Dungee. That plan didn't exactly work out as Dungee finished with a game best 28 points on 9 field goals, four from 3-point range.

But Larkin was able to overcome its decided height disadvantage by fighting for rebounding position and breaking down the Wheaton North defense with dribble penetration.

"We had trouble rebounding the ball, and when they did miss shots we weren't able to get the rebound," Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos said. "They did get to the rim pretty good on us, and we had trouble rotating back after the initial penetration, which is something we'll have to bet better at. If we score 68 points in a game, we should have a shot to win it.

The lead changed hands three times in the third quarter until the Royals took a 51-47 advantage with 2 free throws from Terell John (22 points) and an inside bucket by John, courtesy of a pretty feed in the lane from Brandon Cooks (15 points).

"The past couple of games we've come out real slow (after halftime), so teams have put us down and made it hard for us to come back," Saurbaugh said. "We wanted to come out in the second half and do that to another team."

Wheaton North (2-6) pulled within 70-64 on a Jeff Schalk 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, but John and Ramadon Adili each sank a pair of free throws and Saurbaugh (16 points) split a pair to seal the victory.

Mike Fitzpatrick scored 15 points and Schalk 12 for the Falcons.

Larkin will next play crosstown rival Elgin (3-6) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Wheaton North will play Guilford (3-6) at 8:45 a.m.