Larkin looking to rebound vs. St. Charles East
The Larkin boys basketball team must perform better than it did in two recent losses if the two-time defending Upstate Eight River champions intend to compete with league-leading St. Charles East on Friday.
Larkin (12-6, 4-3) visits St. Charles East (14-1, 6-0) at 7:15 p.m. The Saints won the first meeting between the teams in Elgin on Dec. 5, 62-54, led by 20 points from point guard Cole Gentry, 14 points from 6-foot-5 forward Michael Vyzral and 12 points by 6-2 senior guard Jake Asquini.
Streaking St. Charles East has won 12 straight, including a win over host DeKalb in the title game of the 87th Annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Tournament.
"They're the best team in the area," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said on Tuesday. "You might as well see where you stand after two days of practice. We'll have two good days of practice, I'm sure, and we'll see how we stack up against them Friday night."
The Royals have lost two straight on the road since claiming the title at the Hinkle Holiday Tournament at Jacobs with a 69-66 overtime win against Barrington. They dropped a 57-45 decision last Saturday at Geneva (11-2) and fell 55-52 on Tuesday at Crystal Lake South (11-5).
The Royals faced CL South without starting guard Charles Sanders, who was suspended for an unspecified reason. He is Larkin's fifth-leading scorer (6.3 ppg). Asked Tuesday if Sanders would be available to face the Saints, Carter said "I'm not sure."
Regardless, the Royals must find a way to end an offensive slump. After averaging 68.4 points in five late-December victories at Jacobs, they averaged 48.5 points in losses to Geneva and CL South.
"We have a game on Friday and then we have two games in 14 days," Carter said. "I don't know if there's a team that needs practice as much as we do, but we're going to get it so that's a good thing."
Record-breaking week: A school's single-game scoring record isn't broken often, so it was a rarity when two area players set new records at their respective schools last week.
Bartlett senior Ryan DiCanio is the new single-game scoring leader for the Hawks. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard's 43-point performance in a 74-63 win at Metea Valley included four 3-pointers and 15-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line.
"At halftime he had 11 points so it wasn't like you thought a big game was coming. He was on pace for a 20-point night." Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "It wasn't until the end of the game when we appeared to have it solidly in control that I glanced up and saw he had 40-something points. All along he was being efficient with his shots, he wasn't forcing his game and he made his free throws."
DiCanio bettered the previous record of 38 points, set by 2002 graduate Anthony Maestranzi.
Dundee-Crown's single-game scoring record fell earlier in the week when 6-foot-1 senior guard Kiwaun "Kiwi" Seals scored 42 points in a 50-48 victory over Cary-Grove, thanks to 16-of-28 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 free-throw shooting.
Seals broke a 15-year-old record set by Michael McKibben.
Hampshire ceremony rescheduled: Jake Goebbert Night at Hampshire High School has been rescheduled for "Pack the Place" night against St. Edward on Saturday, Jan. 24.
A ceremony will take place between the girls varsity basketball contest and the boys contest, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Goebbert, a three-sport, all-area athlete who was named 2006 Daily Herald Male Athlete of the Year, made his Major League Baseball debut with the San Diego Padres last June. His framed Padres jersey will be unveiled in a ceremony before it is displayed above the entrance to Hampshire's main competition gym.
Originally scheduled for last week, the ceremony was postponed due to frigid weather that caused classes to be canceled.
MLK Tournament time: Five Fox Valley area boys basketball teams will pack 4 games into two days of competition at Martin Luther King holiday weekend tournaments on Saturday and Monday.
South Elgin (6-9) plays at Rockford Jefferson, Elgin (5-10) travels to Lake Zurich, Burlington Central (7-7) competes in the inaugural MLK tournament at Sterling and Bartlett (12-3) and Huntley (4-9) are in the field at Wheaton Warrenville South.
Bartlett should compete for the title at Wheaton Warrenville South along with the likes of Benet (9-4) and Notre Dame (11-3).
However, the Hawks first turn their attention to a key Upstate Eight Valley road game Friday night at West Aurora (9-5, 3-2). Bartlett and Neuqua Valley are tied atop the UEC Valley at 5-1.
"If we win the tournament, great. If we win the conference, great." Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "Obviously, we want to win the tournament; that's why you enter those things. But we really want to be playing good, consistent basketball in the second half of the season. That won't be easy with two games against two different opponents on Saturday and Monday and with five games in four days. I'm hoping to get some bench kids to step up in key situations and we play consistent defensively."
There is a chance, albeit slim, Huntley could run into Schaumburg (7-9) and former coach Marty Manning, though the teams begin play on opposite ends of the bracket.