Balanced Larkin handles Round Lake

Quality depth. Check

Balanced Scoring. Check

Solid defense. Check.

You get the picture.

Larkin’s boys basketball team was clicking in all facets of the game in posting an impressive 74-50 win over Round Lake in third round action of the Hoops for Healing Tournament held at Woodstock North Friday afternoon.

“We did a lot of good things today because of our rebounding and defensive pressure,” said Larkin coach Deron Carter. “We got a lot of extra possessions and lot of opportunities to score. I really like our depth. We an play a lot of kids and not have a drop-off. We are still experimenting where all the kids fit. We want our staple as a team to be our quality depth.”

The Royals (3-0) started fast and were never threatened by Round Lake. Led by 8 points from Andrew Jones and a 3-pointer from Tayler Boley, the Royals rolled out to an early 11-4 lead.

Forcing 7 first-quarter turnovers, Larkin led by 11, 24-13, after eight minutes. Jones, who made his first 5 shots, scored 10 points in the initial quarter.

The Royals seized control of the contest in the second quarter. Forcing eight more Panther miscues in the quarter, Larkin outscored Round Lake 22-10 and led 44-23 at intermission.

The Royals, who connected on 11-of-17 shots in the quarter for 64 percent, got 6 points from Derrick Streety and 4 each off the bench from Christian Negron and Brayden Rosse in taking a 21-point halftime advantage.

Larkin’s biggest lead of the game was 31, 73-42, after a layup by Devin Ramsey with 2:03 left in the game.

Jones led a balanced Royal attack with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in less than three quarters of play.

“Our goal is to start fast, hit the rebound boards hard and get extra possessions,” said Jones, a 3-year starter. “We have a lot of depth and everybody us contributing right now. It is a good way to start the season.”

Negron contributed 13 points with 7 boards while Kendale McCulllum scored 12 points with 3 assists.

Karnell Wright paced Round Lake with 14 points while Michael Green scored 12. The Panthers were hindered by 15 missed layups.

“We missed a lot of easy shots early and that set the tone,” said Round Lake coach Jeremy Fisher. “We got good looks we just couldn’t make shots.”