Lake Park hangs on in end to top Larkin

It was a day to shake off the rust of the long Christmas break layoff, and Lake Park did just a bit better job of it than Larkin.

Using a 5-0 run with under 2 minutes to play in a nip-and-tick affair, the Lancers held on for a 52-49 win over the Royals in an Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball game played in front of a thin Saturday afternoon crowd in Elgin.

"The layoff probably hurt both teams," said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko. "The offensive continuity was like the first game of the season."

Lake Park's 6-0 lead to start the game was the biggest advantage either team enjoyed in a game that featured 9 ties and 12 lead changes after that.

"I thought Larkin outplayed us the first two quarters but then we got the lead going into the fourth quarter and that was the key," Virostko said. "We just held the ball too much in the first half. In the second half we were more aggressive with our tempo."

Larkin (7-7, 1-2), which lost for the fourth straight time, led 25-23 at halftime after going on a 7-0 run over the final 2:05 of the second quarter, all 7 points coming from senior Jermaine Clements off the bench. But even though the Royals forged into the lead at the break, they struggled to a 10 of 30 shooting half. While they made 5 of their 9 3-pointers in the first half, their inside game yielded only 1 field goal. Larkin finished the game 18 of 57, with an equal number of 3-pointers and 2-pointers. While they were a respectable 9 of 20 from 3-point range, the Royals couldn't penetrate the Lancers' interior defense and were just 9-for-37 on 2-point attempts.

"We practiced well and had a good week of practice on offense," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We just didn't make enough shots to win."

Lake Park (8-6, 2-1) did. The Lancers used good balance to shoot 19 of 42 for the game. Junior Zack Cooper led the way with 12 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 27 seconds to play, while sophomore Dominique Spencer had 11 points. Seniors Kyle Phelan and Matt Drufke added 10 points each for the Lancers, who won for the fourth straight time and fifth in their last six games.

Lake Park led 38-36 entering the fourth quarter and extended the score to 40-36 on a Spencer basket with 6:43 to play. But Larkin got a bucket from Garrett McDaniel and 3 free throws from Ramadan Adili to take a 41-40 lead a minute later. Lake Park gained a 44-41 lead on baskets from Kevin Spejcher and Cooper but Larkin tied it at 44 when Drew Simonini hit a 3-pointer at the 2:12 mark.

That's when Lake Park went on its 5-0 run that Larkin couldn't come back from. Drufke hit 2 free throws with 1:50 left, then Spejcher took a nifty pass under the basket from Drufke and turned it into a 3-point play that put the Lancers ahead 49-44 with 1:16 left. A 3-pointer from Clements made it 49-47 with 1:01 to play but Phelan hit 2 free throws to keep Lake Park in the lead with 37 seconds left. McDaniel's putback of a missed Clements 3-pointer brought Larkin back to within 51-49 with 27 ticks to go and Lake Park missed 2 free throws on the ensuing possession, but Larkin rushed a shot attempt to tie with 17 seconds left and Spencer made 1 of 2 from the line at the 15-second mark to give Lake Park a 52-49 lead.

Larkin called time out with 4.9 seconds to play but the Royals' inbounds pass went off the leg of a Lake Park player and bounced into the backcourt as time ran out.

"If we're going to be a solid team, you find a way to get it done on the road," said Virostko. "It may not have been pretty but we got it done and hopefully we can build on that."

Adili led Larkin with 13 points, Clements added 12 and Simonini 9.

"It's not as much about getting a win this weekend in January as it is about what you can take from it for the next seven weeks," said Carter. "We'll use this is a learning experience."