No letdown for Larkin in big win over Streamwood

After a big weekend for Larkin's boys basketball team that included a win over crosstown rival Elgin and another win in a showcase game against East St. Louis, Tuesday's contest against a struggling Streamwood team could very well have turned into a letdown game. However, the Royals weren't about to let that happen in their home opener on their new floor.

Larkin (5-2, 2-0) was determined from the outset to take care of business and the Royals did just that with a 74-52 win over the Sabres (1-5, 1-1) in Upstate Eight River Division play.

The Royals had a balanced scoring attack with 5 players in double digits. Keyvon Kyles led the way with 12 points. Christian Negron added 11 points to go with 10 boards and 3 blocks. AJ Hunter, and sophomores Jalen Shaw and Kindrel Morris each had 10 points.

"It better not have been a letdown game. No game should be a letdown game if we plan on accomplishing the goals we have set for ourselves," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "This is a mature group. They know the most important game on the schedule is always the one you're playing. I thought we did a good job of coming right out and setting the tempo."

The Royals scored the first 7 points of the game with their top three weapons getting involved right away. Kyles hit an open 3-pointer on the first possession. The 6-foot-6 Negron followed with a putback slam dunk and Hunter added a layup off a steal. Hunter scored 8 of his points in the first quarter as the Royals stretched the lead to 21-9.

"We didn't want to disappoint the crowd in our first home game," Hunter said. "We weren't going to let the success we had over the weekend get to our heads. We have a lot more goals we want to fulfill. I thought the best thing we did tonight was share the ball. Everybody got some touches and we were patient for the open shots."

The Royals shot 27-for-46 (57 percent) from the field through the first 3 quarters before falling off that pace in the fourth quarter,

The Royals led 36-20 at halftime and by as many as many as 28 in the second half. The Larkin bench accounted for 31 points in the game. Morris came off the pines to score all 10 of his points in the second half.

Streamwood, which pulled off major upset against previously undefeated Geneva this past Friday night, didn't come close to pulling off the same feat. On the positive side sophomore Brendon Marton, who was matched up against the highly-touted Negron much of the game, scored a game-high 23 points."

"Marton really had a nice game," said Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn, a Larkin graduate. "He was finding good shots in rhythm and on the defensive end was able to hold his own against Negron. So that was a glimmer of hope for us. But give Larkin credit. Their guards really made it a long night for us by consistently getting into the lane."