Leahy shoots Geneva past Larkin
Brendan Leahy and his Geneva basketball teammates made sure that Wednesday’s Senior Night would be a memorable one.
Leahy exploded for a game-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots, to help lead the Vikings (13-9, 7-2) to a 60-32 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over visiting Larkin (14-8, 5-5).
The 6-4 senior guard was virtually unstoppable throughout the opening half, as he poured in 21 points and outscored the Royals’ entire team during the first 16 minutes.
Geneva led 32-14 at halftime.
At one point, Leahy connected on 7 consecutive field-goal attempts, including three from 3-point range.
“No, never,” Leahy said when asked if he had ever experienced a half quite like the one he enjoyed Wednesday night. “It was just a Senior Night special, I guess.”
Leahy scored Geneva’s last 12 points during a 14-1 run that enabled the Vikings to take a 17-6 first-quarter lead.
“On both ends of the floor, Brendan did some really nice things,” said Vikings coach Phil Ralston, whose team remained 1 game ahead of St. Charles North (8-3) and Elgin (6-3) in the loss column atop the UEC River standings.
“He played inside-out, made some nice passes, made some nice cuts, took a charge, and was on the boards,” Ralston said of Leahy’s performance. “He was a man among boys tonight. He really took his game to the next level.”
Leahy received plenty of support from his teammates, as Phil Lorenz (7 points, 4 rebounds), Mark Becker (6 points), Ryan Willing (5 points, 6 assists, 3 steals), John Swiderski (5 points), and Mike Trimble (5 points) also made significant contributions.
“We played together, and good things happen when you do that,” said Leahy. “We’re a very unselfish team. We’re always looking for each other. That’s just how we’ve been playing.”
The only negative for Leahy came late in the first half when his 1-handed dunk attempt caromed off the back rim.
“I wasn’t totally committed to it,” said Leahy. “But it’s definitely easier to laugh about it now.”
Geneva, which led by as many as 35 at one point late in the fourth quarter (60-25), shot 55 percent from the field (24-of-44) — 50 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the 3-point arc.
“I’ll be honest, I was nervous going into this game,” said Ralston, whose team had knocked off the Royals, 69-50, back on Jan. 6 in Elgin. “Larkin has been playing really well this last month. We had to focus in on our defense.
“By and large, I thought they overachieved the level of excellence that we asked of them tonight. Hopefully on the offensive end, we haven’t used up all our baskets and saved a few for the stretch the next couple weeks.”
Sophomore guard Derrick Streety had 13 points for Larkin, which finished 13-of-54 from the field (24 percent) and was 2-of-20 on 3-point attempts.
“Defense, offense, and rebounding — I think we didn’t do any of those very well,” said Royals coach Deryn Carter. “And just to add a little cherry on top, we weren’t good with our free throws (4-of-10).”
Geneva visits St. Charles North Saturday night.
“It’s not going to get any easier,” said Ralston, whose team will play its final 3 regular-season games on the road. “It’s time to put on the big-boy pants and go on to our next opponent.”