Larkin takes a big step
The young, talented Larkin boys basketball team took an important step Thanksgiving week by winning the Hoops for Healing Tournament with victories over Woodstock, Cary-Grove, Marian Central and Woodstock North.
Beating those four teams to match last year's total of 4 victories was an important rite of passage for the Royals, who start two sophomores and a junior. But Beating Bartlett a program two years removed from an appearance in a supersectional game on its home court Friday night was quite another.
Determined and focused throughout a sparkling first half, the Royals built a 16-point halftime lead and fended off a fourth-quarter challenge to hand the previously undefeated Hawks a 62-53 defeat in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover.
It's a result sure to get the attention of the other 12 teams in the league, which is exactly what the Royals wanted.
"We wanted to come out on a Friday night and prove something, let our names be known," said 6-foot-5 senior Antonio Pipes, who scored 8 of his 10 points in the first half. "There were a lot of people counting us out in this game, but we've been working real hard for this game in particular to come out and prove something."
The game was tied 7-7 until a 7-0 run put the Royals in the lead for good, as it turned out. Sophomore Drew Jones got things started with a baseline jumper, Pipes rattled home a one-handed hook shot and junior shooting guard Quantice Hunter buried the first of his three 3-pointers en route to a 16-point night.
Larkin (5-0) kept the pressure on in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks 15-6. Larkin used multiple breakaways off steals or missed shot to up its first-half shooting percentage to 62.5 percent (15 of 24). Meanwhile, Bartlett was mired in a 6-of-26 slump through two quarters, settling for too many perimeter shots.
"They had a good half of basketball and we had a bad half of basketball," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "At the level that we play at, that will kill you."
"We didn't execute our offense in the first half," said Bartlett senior Lorenzo Mitchell, who scored 14 points to supplement guard Matt Chaltin's 19-point effort. "That's what really killed us. We just played terribly in the first half. We played bad defense all around. They got too many wide-open baskets. We came out in the second half fired up, but we let them get too big a lead."
Bartlett (4-1) outscored the Royals 35-28 in the second half. The Hawks drew within 50-45 with 4:56 remaining, thanks to a 7-0 run. Mitchell completed a three-point play and another inside basket, and Chaltin canned a 10-foot jump shot to get the Hawks within 5 points.
However, Larkin's Hunter responded with a 3-pointer. He then stole the ball from a Bartlett guard and scored on a breakaway. Jones (7 points) restored Larkin's 12-point lead by sinking a transition bucket with 3:25 to play.
Afterward, Hunter stressed the importance of a road win against a high-caliber, undefeated opponent.
"In that tournament we gained some credibility but not that much," Hunter said. "But I think people will see after this win that Larkin is turning back into the successful team we were back in the day."
Hunter's coach agreed
"That's a good win," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "No disrespect to any of our other wins because they're all good, but that's a big one.
"Our guys are starting to buy into their roles. We've got guys who could maybe do more on the floor, but they're willing to sacrifice for the team. It's unbelievable for a high school kid to do that, seniors who are willing to sacrifice the shine and the stats to try to get the most important stat, which is winning.
"That's huge. That's huge."