Larkin can't hold lead at Rockford Guilford
ROCKFORD -Larkin came out hot against Guilford, but the Royals couldn't sustain it. The Vikings overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and pulled away for a 70-62 victory in nonconference boys basketball action here Saturday night.
Jermaine Clements' 20 points weren't enough to overcome the Vikings' hot shooting and a 36-13 free throw disparity.
A putback by Ramadan Adili made it 66-62 and the Royals called timeout with 8 seconds left. But the Vikings made 4 straight free throws sandwiched around a Larkin turnover to seal the win.
Led by Clements, the Royals jumped out to a 29-17 lead after 11 minutes. But after a Guilford timeout, the Vikings went on a 13-3 run to get within 32-30 at halftime.
"They got some easy buckets off of offensive rebounds there in the second quarter," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter, whose team lost its sixth straight. "We committed quite a few fouls, so they got some free points at the free-throw line. When you get offensive rebound putbacks and you get putbacks, you don't change momentum so much as slow down the opposing teams, and that's what they did."
Guilford kept up the pressure after the break, using runs of 15-6 and 10-3 to pull away.
Quavion Kimble had 15 of his 21 points in the first half for Guilford. In the second half, the Vikings' guards took over. Brandon Blankenship had 12 of his 16 points after the break and Juwan Hubbard scored 9 of his 13 in the final 16 minutes.
Ryan Smith had a symmetrical night for Larkin, making one 3-pointer in each quarter for a total of 12 points.
The Royals' bench outscored Guilfords' 20-12. Adili finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Carlito Singleton had 7 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for Larkin (7-9).
Larkin took its last lead at 40-39 on Smith's 3-pointer. The Vikings scored the next 6 points to go ahead for good. Clements' basket made it 50-49 on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but free throws kept the Vikings in the lead.
Guilford made 13 of 18 from the line in the final period, led by Blankenship who went 6-for-6.