Hoffman likes seeing double on Larkin

Seeing double was a welcome sight for Hoffman Estates' boys basketball team.

For the first time all season the Hawks were in a game which ended with a double-digit margin as they beat Larkin 61-46 on Wednesday in the 35th annual Pepsi/Daily Herald Elgin Boys Holiday Basketball Tournament.

"It was nice to at least get a good lead to know we can play some of our bench players," said 6-foot-7 Lance Vesper with a smile after Hoffman led by double figures the last 191/2 minutes and by as much as 23 points. "I know the bench wanted to get in the game."

Hoffman (7-4) was on its game to play Rolling Meadows for fifth at 5 p.m. Saturday as it limited its turnovers to 15 with Kevin Tiongson scoring a game-high 18 points on 4-for-5 3-point shooting. Vesper had 16 points on 8-for-10 from the field and 7 rebounds and got solid help inside from John Bialek and Colin Conway.

"We really worked in practice this morning on getting the ball inside," Vesper said. "I thought we had that advantage the whole game."

Thomas Iheme added 9 points off the bench and helped Brandon Fischer and Jimmy Fabbrini hold Larkin senior Ryan Smith to 7 points on 3-for-8 shooting.

"I thought our guys played 'D,' especially Fischer," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro. "(Smith) can fill it up."

Ramadan Adili had 14 points to lead Larkin (7-5), which plays Buffalo Grove for seventh at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We have to get back to what we were doing earlier this season to be successful - relying on energy and effort," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We have to hang our hat on playing harder than our opponent."