Carter era at Larkin starts with a victory

The Deryn Carter era at Larkin began with a victory Tuesday.

The Royals earned a win in their season opener - their first under 1998 graduate Carter - by beating Belvidere 70-60 at the Hoops for Healing Tournament in Belvidere.

"We've got a whole new coach and a whole new program," said senior Garrett McDaniel, who scored 9 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. "We just tried to do our best and we succeeded."

The Royals did everything right in the first half in taking a 35-19 lead at the intermission. Larkin shot 12 of 23 from the floor and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Senior guard Ramadan Adili led the early charge with 15 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

"I was just hitting open shots when coach drew up a play," Adili said. "We focus on defense and if our defensive game is working, our offense is going to come to us. (The 3-pointer) is not really what we're going to rely on but if it's there, it's there."

However, Adili (16 points) found himself in foul trouble in the second half - as did nearly every player as the officials whistled 52 combined fouls - and Belvidere outscored the Royals 23-12 in the third quarter to get back in the game.

The Bucs cut shaved the deficit as close as 44-42 on a three-point play by senior Everette Fitts with 10.8 left in the third quarter, but Larkin guard Drew Simonini responded with a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the Royals a 5-point cushion heading to the final period.

McDaniel kept Larkin ahead by scoring on 3 straight possessions in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 62-52 with 3:09 left.

"I had my guy on my back side and he wasn't fronting me, so I just took control over him," he said.

An inside bucket by Alex Wahl (6 points) and 3 free throws by Simonini (15 points, 10 of 12 from the line) put the game away.

Carter would have preferred his team not make it so interesting in the second half, but he was happy to get the win.

"We talked to the guys about it being two halves, but I guess they didn't get that memo," Carter said. "But we've got to be happy with what they brought to the table. Their energy and effort was fantastic. The concentration could have been a little higher. We'll take everything as a teaching tool and we'll move on. We're happy with the victory."