Huntley rallies twice, tops Larkin
One comeback wasn't enough for Huntley Monday night in the Class 4A St. Charles East regional quarterfinals.
Huntley came back from double-digit deficits in both halves to win a wild 64-61 game over No. 9 Larkin. The seventh-seeded Red Raiders (17-14) will play host and No. 2 St. Charles East (18-13) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinals.
"Just a tough, gutty win," Huntley coach Will Benson said. "To find a way to win a game like that with our season on the line, I've never been prouder in nine years as a head coach."
Larkin started fast, leading 6-0 two minutes into the game and 20-10 late in the first quarter.
By halftime Huntley had erased that deficit by holding the Royals without a field goal in the second quarter to go up 27-26 at halftime.
Once again, Larkin surged. Tied at 34, Jashon Johnson-Neals' conventional 3-point play started a 16-5 run to end the third quarter ahead 50-39.
Once again, Huntley battled back.
"We had to think positive and stay confident," Huntley junior Ryan Crosby said. "We just had to keep fighting."
Uchenna Egekeze made a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer before Ryan Sroka's fadeaway quickly got the Red Raiders back within 50-46.
"That minute really hurt us, got us tight offensively and they made some big shots down the stretch and we didn't guard the way we should have," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "That's why we're going home."
With 3:43 remaining, Crosby sank a 3 to give Huntley a 55-54 lead, the first of five lead changes down the stretch. Freshman Damari Wheeler-Thomas sank two free throws to put Larkin up 56-55, Sroka had a putback for Huntley, Victor Perez Jr. hit a pullup jumper, and then Crosby buried another 3 to make it 60-58 Red Raiders with 2:30 left.
"Once I hit my first one I knew I kind of had it going and my teammates trusted me to take the next one," said Crosby, who made four 3s in the game. "I just let it fly and it went in."
The Red Raiders didn't trail again after Crosby's 3, but up 62-59 in the final minute they had to survive a pair of turnovers and a missed 1-and-1. The Royals missed shots after both turnovers, then got one more chance after the missed free throw with :5.2 seconds to go.
Huntley tried to foul at half-court so Larkin couldn't get off the game-tying 3 but fouled Perez Jr. while he was in the act of shooting. Needing to make all three to tie with 2.4 seconds to go, Perez hit the first and third to bring Larkin within 62-61.
Egekeze sank two free throws to put Huntley ahead 64-61. Inbounding from half-court after a timeout with just .5 seconds left, Wheeler-Thomas got off a contested and rushed 25-footer to try to force overtime that was off the mark.
Egekeze paced Huntley with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Sroka double-doubled with 15 points and 11 boards.
"That was about as much adversity as you could have in a game," Benson said. "A lot of fight. Down 11 in the fourth we just said you guys have worked too hard not to have one more run in you."
Perez Jr. led all scorers with 20 points and Johnson-Neals added 12.
A year after taking fourth at the Class 4A state tournament, the inexperienced Royals finished 12-19 with promising young players like Wheeler-Thomas, who capped his freshman season with 15 points Monday.
"He's going to be special," Carter said. "That's the only way I can say it. He gets you excited about the future. What people don't see is how hard he works off the court. He's an absolute gym rat. I'm looking forward to what he can do. He had a great freshman year and we're looking forward to great things from him. This group came a long way this season."