Batavia stays atop UEC River with win over Larkin

A nearly three-minute letdown in the Larkin boys basketball team's otherwise smothering defense provided enough window for Canaan Coffey to rally host Batavia to a 55-48 win Friday.

For three quarters Larkin's intense man-to-man pressure made completing even the simplest perimeter pass a challenge for Upstate Eight River-leading Batavia (8-6, 5-0).

Larkin (8-7, 2-2) led by 12 points midway through the second quarter, by 8 at the half and by 5 with under seven minutes to play.

Then the Royals blinked. And Coffey capitalized.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard scored 11 of his game-high 21 points during a 14-0 Batavia run over a span of 2:44 to turn a 38-33 deficit into a 47-38 lead.

Coffey sank three 3-pointers during that stretch, including the go-ahead triple from Kevin Bryant range with 5:39 left.

"I don't really think about how far I am," Coffey said after shooting 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. "If I'm there, if I'm open, I take the look. Since a young age I've just kind of drifted out sometimes, gotten my legs under me and taken those deep shots. They were falling so it was nice."

Larkin couldn't expand its halftime lead. The Royals shot 3 of 17 from the field in the third quarter. In the final period they made only 4 of 10 shots and turned the ball over 5 times.

"I think if we had gotten 2 or 3 easy buckets, the game would have been over," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "But they got those 2 or 3 easy buckets and then Coffey hit those 2 tough threes and that was it. That was it. We couldn't respond. We have to be good enough to respond to that if we want to do the things we want to do."

After a Coffey 3-pointer trimmed the Larkin lead to 38-36, Batavia guard Kamontez Thomas made his biggest play of the game. He stole the ball from a Larkin guard and scored at the other end on a left-handed baseline drive to knot the score at 38 apiece with 5:59 remaining.

"Coach always emphasizes arrogance," said Thomas, who finished with 10 points. "I saw the open lane, took it to him and I guess my teammates feed off my energy. If I'm bringing it, they're going to match me."

Senior John Fitch and junior Colin Cheaney each contributed 9 points for Batavia to help offset a 16-point, 12-rebound, 3-block performance by Larkin junior forward Christian Negron. AJ Hunter scored 12 points for the Royals and fellow senior guard Keyvon Kyles added 10 points.

The victory keeps Batavia all alone in first place in the Upstate Eight River at 5-0. The Bulldogs enjoy a 1½-game lead on second-place St. Charles East (3-1). Geneva and Larkin are each 2-2 in UEC River play.

"We've got guys that play bigger and better than what their numbers are," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "I think we've got a team that believes and there's a quiet confidence about them. It isn't a surprise that we could do this and we could play this well. You just have one of those teams that, no matter what happens, we're going to go on the floor and play. We respect what all these (opponents) can do. At the same time, we can play."