Grady helps Geneva reach 20 wins

Carrying a 20-plus point average into Saturday night's game, it shouldn't come as a shock that senior guard/forward Jeremy D'Amico finished with a game-high 20 points during Geneva's 63-39 nonconference basketball triumph over visiting Larkin.

The real surprise was offered by 5-11 senior guard Sean Grady, who added season and career highs with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field to help push the Vikings to their 20th victory of the season (20-6).

Grady, whom Vikings coach Phil Ralston calls "the cornerstone of our defense," hit 5 of his first 6 shots - most of them coming on midrange jumpers - while combining with D'Amico for 25 first-half points as the Vikings grabbed a 27-18 lead at the intermission. His last basket, a double-clutch jumper as the clock wound down in the third quarter, capped a 19-5 run that enabled the Vikings to extend their lead to 46-23.

"You want to make people respect you on the offensive floor so you're not playing 4-on-5 on offense," said Grady. "You want to be able to score and be a threat so they won't sag off you and double-team Jeremy in the post."

Grady entered the game averaging 4 points per game.

"It was nice to see that," Ralston said of Grady's offense. "He's been getting a little more confident in looking for those types of shots and drives to the basket. I think he's been smart enough to know when to pull it back out and reset the offense but it was nice to see him hit some shots tonight."

Grady sandwiched first-quarter baskets around D'Amico's 13 points as Geneva jumped out to a 17-3 lead. After misfiring on 8 of its 9 first-quarter shots, Larkin (6-18) received an offensive spark from Jeff Saurbaugh, who scored 7 of his team-leading 11 points during the Royals' 15-10 second-period surge.

But the spark was a temporary one, as the Royals connected on just 2 of their 9 third-quarter field goal tries.

"Their defense really messed us up," said Larkin coach Larry Hight, whose team suffered its 11th consecutive loss. "Some of our guys were saying, 'Our guys aren't doing this, our guys aren't doing that.' "But that's what defense does - it keeps you from doing what you want to do."

Twelve different players scored for the Vikings, who can clinch at least a share of the Western Sun Conference title with a homecourt victory over Sycamore Friday night.

"Sycamore is a team that bit us at their place," said Ralston. "We need to make sure that we don't overlook them. We have to make sure that we close out the season on the right note."

Terell John added 8 points and 6 rebounds for Larkin.