Streamwood ends Larkin’s season
The rematch is on.
No. 4 Streamwood guaranteed itself another date with top-seed Elgin by dispatching the host Royals 38-27 in the play-in game of the Class 4A Larkin boys basketball regional Monday.
It was the fourth victory in 5 games for the suddenly hot Sabres (9-18), who defeated Elgin 52-50 just four days ago to even the season series against the talented Maroons (20-6).
“It’s definitely going to be a battle because they’re going to come out like dogs and pressure us the whole game,” Streamwood 6-foot-7 center Bobby Post said of tonight’s regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. “We have to stand our ground and play with them.”
Post and the Sabres held No. 5 Larkin (4-23) to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. Streamwood used its size advantage in the paint, courtesy of Post and senior forward Adam Acevedo (6-4), to keep the Royals from scoring in the frontcourt, and they kept hands in the faces of Larkin’s young outside shooters.
The result? Larkin shot 20.4 percent from the field overall (10 of 49) and 15.1 percent from 3-point range (2 of 13).
The Royals, who counted only two seniors among the 11 players who saw the floor Monday, committed 15 turnovers, including 6 miscues in the second quarter when they were outscored 12-4 and left with a 23-9 halftime deficit.
“It was a fitting end to the season and kind of showed why we were playing on Monday as the five seed in the regional: too many turnovers and we couldn’t hit enough shots,” Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. “Defensively, you can’t complain.”
The Royals did hold Streamwood to 37.5-percent shooting (15 of 40), but the Sabres won the rebounding battle 41-32 and scored on multiple second-chance opportunities. Post was the key offensive producer. The junior finished with game highs of 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with 5 blocked shots.
Post helped the Sabres pull away with 8 points and 8 rebounds in the first half alone, but he wasn’t pleased with his team’s 7-point output in the fourth quarter, when they turned the ball over 7 times. His coach wasn’t thrilled either.
“Give them a lot of credit — we just couldn’t put them away,” Streamwood coach Tim Jones said of Larkin. “We changed defenses up because we thought they’d have a little trouble with changing defenses, but we just didn’t do anything offensively.”
Post was supported by Acevedo (6 points, 4 rebounds) and 5 points apiece from guards Tim Cohen, D.J. Mustari and Jerald Ofiana.
Junior guard Cam Ross led Larkin with 8 points.
Carter thanked seniors like Trevor Whitehead and Brent Cooks, who suffered 49 losses in two seasons as the program undertook the process of a complete rebuild. He also looked ahead to a brighter future.
“I told them I was proud of them,” Carter said of his seniors. “I was happy for them being part of our program and they’ll always be part of our program, so keep coming back.
“You definitely see some promising signs. We are young, but the biggest thing we’ll have to tell our guys in the next six or seven months is that just because you’re young doesn’t mean you’re going to be good. We’re going to have to put in a lot work and I think they understand that.
“ We’re losing a lot of leadership and a tough mentality in that senior group, but statistically we’re not losing a lot of production so hopefully we can turn it around and try to win some more games next year.”
Larkin’s top six scorers return to the lineup next year.