Neuqua downs Larkin to finish unbeaten in UEC
Neuqua Valley wanted to use its size advantage against Larkin.
The Wildcats got a combined 40 points from Kareem Amedu (23) and Kyle Pembrook (17) as they held off a pesky Royals team to take a 67-56 Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball victory Friday on Larkin's Senior Night in Elgin.
The win locks up the third undefeated league crown for Neuqua, which has laid claim to the Upstate Eight title for 5 of the past 6 years. The victory also make Neuqua the last boys team to win the Upstate Eight championship outright, as the conference will go to a divisional system next season after 47 years as a single-division conference.
But Larkin wasn't worried about a history lesson and hung with the Wildcats, who are currently ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 4A, until midway through the third quarter.
Royals' guard Jermaine Clements brought Larkin to within 46-44 with 3:26 left in the third quarter on a jump shot. Amedu responded with an offensive putback to kick off a 21-12 scoring run to end the game.
Amedu finished with 9 of his game-high 15 rebounds in the second half and added 7 offensive boards in the game. After Clements' basket, Amedu scored 8 second-chance points as Neuqua went up 59-49 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
"Our inside game was good on offense," Wildcats' coach Todd Sutton said. "They got a lot of points and a lot of rebounds."
After shooting 46.5 percent (20 of 43) from the floor in the first 3 quarters, Larkin went just 3 of 16 from the floor in the fourth quarter. Adding to its struggles was the 2 of 7 performance from the free-throw line as Larkin scored just 8 points in the final period.
The Royals' outside game was what kept them close early. Ryan Smith connected on five 3-pointers in the first half to keep Larkin within 38-35 at halftime.
"Coming in, we knew it was going to be tough," Smith said. "But being down 3 at the half, we were pumped."
After trailing 20-8 in the opening period, the Royals poured in 22 second-quarter points, shooting 9 of 18 from the floor. Smith (19 points) finished the first half going 5 of 8 from beyond the 3-point line and Larkin was 7 of 14 as a team.
"We had no idea that (Smith) had that good of a shot," Amedu said. "We kind of underestimated them coming out."
Neuqua connected on all 4 of its 3-pointers in the first period, but then went down low to Amedu, who scored 21 of his 23 points after the first quarter. Pembrook (11 rebounds) scored 6 second-chance points in the game.
"We were outsized at every position," Royals' interim coach Steve Knapp said. "We had to block out. Amedu killed us on the boards, but there's not much we can do when we're that much outsized."