McDaniel, Larkin notch victory over Maine West
Left-handed people have been known to be creative. Larkin's Garrett McDaniel, a left-handed senior forward, created a masterpiece of a fourth quarter in the Royals' 66-64 boys basketball win at Maine West Monday night.
McDaniel was the go-to guy as Larkin (6-2) had to withstand several Maine West (3-5) flurries in the second half of the nonconference game played in Des Plaines.
"McDaniel was the go-to guy tonight," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "Tonight we called his number. But the players understand that we play for the win. It was a group effort."
A Larkin 29-12 lead with 4:34 left in the first half was cut into when the Warriors went on a 11-2 run to end the half trailing 31-23. Alex Samuelson (24 points, 5 rebounds) and Chris Garcia (11 points) had 4 points each during the run.
Maine West finally tied the score at 49-49 on a 3-pointer by Odera Eneogwe (15 points, 15 rebounds) with 6:54 remaining in the game.
McDaniel swept around a defender, scored and completed a 3-point play for a 52-49 lead with 5:30 left.
Samuelson kept Maine West close with 4 free throws and 2 baskets down the stretch.
McDaniel assisted on a basket by Ramadan Adili (14 points) and then scored his final basket with 1:05 left for a 62-59 lead.
Eneogwe pulled the Warriors to 62-61 when he converted his own missed shot into a basket with 38 seconds left.
Adili and Leandre Lee hit 2 free throws each before Emmett Turner-Jackson swished through a 3-point basket at the buzzer for the Warriors.
"The defense was fronting me in the fourth quarter," said McDaniel. "If I can get the ball down low, I feel I can beat my man one on one. I had to turn it on in the fourth quarter and use my strength to get inside. We opened up that big lead and then we got complacent."
"It was footwork strength and angles that worked for McDaniel," said Carter. "And being left-handed didn't hurt."
Maine West's slow start saw Larkin speed off to a 17-6 first quarter lead. The Warriors shot 10-for-33 in the first half before righting themselves and finishing at 48 percent on 20 of 41.
" I was disappointed with the way we started," said Maine West coach Erik McNeil. "We just weren't ready for them. But, our guys battled back. Had we been able to get some early stops things could have turned out better. When we got inside, the ball just wouldn't drop for us."
Freshman Carlito Singleton scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter for the Royals.
Ryan Smith chipped in with 11 points.