Hononegah runs away with Larkin

Just when it looked like Larkin was going to climb over the top, it all came crashing down.

Drew Simonini's third 3-pointer of the third quarter cut Larkin's deficit to 4 and it looked like the Royals might get on top of Hononegah after trailing by double digits for most of the game. But that was as close as the Royals got. Led by Mario Donaldson and Stanley Moore, the Indians scored 19 straight points to take a commanding lead into the fourth quarter.

Hononegah went on to a 69-43 win in the second round of the Hoops for Healing boys basketball tournament Wednesday at Belvidere High School.

Hononegah pushed the ball upcourt and found open shots, but couldn't hit them, at least in the first half. The Indians made just 11 of 30 field goal attempts in the first half and the Royals stayed close.

Simonini's 3-pointers were his only points of the night, but he tied for team-high scoring honors. Ryan Smith had a trio of 3-pointers in the first half and added 6 rebounds for the game. Ramadan Adili added 8 points and Jermaine Clements 6 for the Royals (0-2).

The Indians' zone defense and full-court pressure hit the Royals where they were vulnerable.

"We don't have our press break in and we don't have our zone offense in against a 1-2-2," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We went through it for 15 minutes before we walked out here in our dress clothes.

"The result's not the disappointing thing. It's some of the things we have worked on: our energy and our effort. That was the disappointing thing. That was a nice run, but against a team like that, that's all it was was a run."

Donaldson scored 6 points and Moore 5 during the Indians' run. Donaldson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Moore added 12 points and 8 boards. Chase Robinson had 10 points for Hononegah (2-0).

Hononegah jumped out to an 11-0 lead. Larkin didn't score until Smith's 3-pointer with 3 minutes left in the first half. The Indians led 29-20 at halftime, but came out hot after the break. Simonini hit 3-pointers on 3 of the firsts 4 possessions, with Garrett McDaniel adding a free throw in between.

It was 34-30 when Hononegah's David Nelson scored his only basket of the night to start the run. Larkin wouldn't score again until McDaniel's putback in the closing seconds of the third quarter. The Indians had an answer for that, too, as Andrew Tapley beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to make it 56-32 after 3 periods.

The Royals made 9 3-pointers overall, but hit just 4 2-pointers.