Waubonsie takes Larkin 58-47 in Upstate Eight Conference victory

One way to beat a taller team is to shoot over it, a strategy Larkin employed effectively for a half against visiting Waubonsie Valley Saturday night.

The Royals connected on 7 of their first 8 attempts from 3-point range to offset the Warriors' 14-4 rebounding advantage.

Senior guard Ryan Smith led the way with three 3-pointers and Drew Simonini drained a pair to stake Larkin to a 28-23 halftime lead.

However, Larkin's shots stopped falling in the second half while Waubonsie Valley's rebounding margin only increased. The Warriors bolted from the intermission with a 14-0 run to take 9-point lead and were never threatened again in an eventual 58-47 Upstate Eight Conference victory.

Waubonsie Valley (8-6, 2-1) dominated the glass 38-12 - including 18 offensive rebounds - and outscored the Royals 23-4 on second-chance opportunities, thanks in part to the absence of Larkin forward Brandon Cooks. The senior left the game with a concussion in the second quarter and was taken to the hospital for observation.

Western Illinois recruit Jelani Johnson, the Warriors' only returning starter this season, was a force in the paint throughout. He scored a game-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds (8 offensive) and 3 steals.

"Coach (Steve) Weemer puts a lot on me because I'm the leader of the team, so I have to make sure I'm able to follow through," Johnson said.

"We just weren't playing that hard in the first half. We had to pick ourselves back up and get our minds down to business."

Larkin (6-8, 1-2) switched to a 2-3 zone defense in the third quarter to try to limit Johnson's effectiveness, but the athletic 6-foot-5 forward still got his.

"We knew he would be a load for us," said Larkin coach Larry Hight. "We tried everything we could to stop him, but besides being tall with long arms he can jump. A couple of times we boxed him out, but he just jumps over everybody.

"I didn't know what we could turn to to stop it. We zoned it, we collapsed on him, we had him boxed out a couple of times and seemed like the ball would just come to him."

Senior guard Alex Stokowski opened Waubonsie Valley's game-changing 14-0 surge with a runner in the lane, and Johnson followed with a putback of his own miss and then a 3-pointer.

Jakor Johnson sank another 3-pointer and Tyler Castro and Roy McElroy each added buckets in the paint to flip the game and put the Warriors in command.

Smith, who scored 11 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting, was held to a single 3-pointer in 3 attempts after halftime and finished with a team-best 17 points. Part of the credit goes to Johnson, who started covering Smith after his third 3-pointer.

"I started out great, but then (Johnson) wouldn't leave my side," Smith said. "He was holding my jersey and making me frustrated, so he took me out of my game. He did a good job defending, and there wasn't much I could do in the second half."

Saurbaugh notched 11 points for Larkin and while Simonini and Terell John each contributed 8 points.