Larkin uses late run to down rival Elgin
Larkin has closers.
Trailing by 3 points with 3:01 to play, visiting Larkin erupted for a 12-0 run to defeat rival Elgin 71-62 in the Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball opener at Chesbrough Field House Friday.
Elgin already led by a point when junior Jordan Dean drove the baseline and scored on a shot high off the glass and drew a foul. Those were the last points the Maroons (2-3) would score.
Larkin (4-1) grabbed Dean's missed free throw and headed up court. Freshman Carlito Singleton spotted senior guard Ramadan Adili open at the top of the key and Adili drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 62 with 2:50 remaining.
"I was getting back and trailing and no one picked me up, so I was wide open," said Adili, who finished with 13 points. "I just took the trey and it was the best feeling ever."
His shot gave the Maroons that sinking feeling.
"If (Dean) hits that free throw, we're talking about spreading the floor and icing it the rest of the game," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "He doesn't hit the free throw, and then we don't pick up the point guard. We don't even match up. That's just bad coaching and it's a mistake you can't make if you want to win a basketball game. We just didn't finish the game very well."
Elgin turned the ball over on its next possession and Larkin sharpshooter Ryan Smith (25 points) made the Maroons pay. After Larkin center Garrett McDaniel snared an offensive rebound, Smith connected on his sixth 3-pointer of the game to put the Royals ahead 65-62 with 1:36 left. Smith now has 23 3-pointers in 5 contests.
Elgin brought the ball up court, but Adili stepped in front of a pass and sprinted for a layup attempt. His shot rimmed out, but Smith followed up with an acrobatic, back-to-the-rim putback that gave the Royals a 67-62 lead with 1:20 left.
"I just kind of threw it up hoping I'd get the foul," Smith said. "Laying on the floor, I saw it go in."
Larkin switched to a 1-2-2 trapping defense and Trevor Whitehead made a steal with 1:07 left, forcing Elgin to foul. Adili sank 2 free throws and Drew Simonini split 4 attempts from the line to close out the victory.
"They really responded," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said of his Royals. "After Elgin got a big and-one and went up 3, our guys responded with great energy in those last couple of minutes. You've got to be proud, you've got to be proud."
Elgin, which started one senior, two juniors and two sophomores, showed its inexperience in the game's final three minutes.
"It wasn't their 3-pointers that killed us. It was ourselves," said Elgin sophomore Kory Brown, who scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. " We just need to control the ball more when we're on top and try to slow it down, move the ball around, run some clock and find a wide-open layup or jump shot."
Added Elgin senior Tim Newcombe: "This was a tough one to swallow. Everybody played hard, but it was a couple of turnovers down the stretch that killed us."
Larkin led 18-10 after a quarter, thanks to four 3-pointers by Smith. The Maroons pulled to within 30-29 at halftime, sparked by a 12-point second quarter by Dean that included a pair of 3-pointers.
The lead changed hands five times in the third quarter and Larkin led 46-44 heading to the final period.
Dean led the Maroons with 18 points and Brandon Baymon added 11. Singleton scored 11 points for the Royals in his first appearance at Chesbrough and McDaniel added 10 points.