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Rockford East runs away with Larkin

For Larkin it was a second half to forget.

It was one to remember for Rockford East.

With the score deadlocked at 27 at halftime, the E-Rabs outscored the Royals 46-24 during the final 16 minutes in recording a 73-51 win in the consolation championship game of the 37th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament Thursday afternoon.

“Even though the score was tied at halftime we didn’t play very well in the first half,” said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. “We played poorly the entire game and it was not the way we wanted to end the tournament. This game leaves a bad taste in our mouths. We had no patience on offense and we played poorly on the defensive end. They got layup after layup, offensive rebound after offensive rebound and easy jump shot after easy jump shot. We will learn from this and get back to the practice floor for the next two weeks. We will certainly work on defense a lot.”

With the score tied at 30 early in the third quarter, the E-Rabs seized control of the game with a pivotal 8-0 run. Steven McNease and Andrew Lantz canned 3-pointers and Darshawn Pumphrey-King had a layup as the E-Rabs (8-4) led 38-30 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.

Larkin couldn’t slice into the lead.

Leading 46-38 after three quarters, the E-Rabs ensured there wouldn’t be a Larkin (8-4) comeback by starting the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run. McNease, who led Rockford East with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots, scored 7 points during the run including a 3-pointer. Nathan Phillips also connected on a 3 as the E-Rabs extended a 8-point third quarter lead to 16, 56-40 with 5:02 left in the game.

“We didn’t do anything differently in the second half,” said Rockford East coach Ray Sackmaster. “We just played better and played with better effort. We were more patient on offense and we defended their shooters better. Larkin is similar to us last year. They are a very young team with a lot of talent. They will mature and be good even by the end of the season and next season they will be very good.”

McNease was backed in scoring by Devion Smith with 18 points, 12 in the second half.

Antonio Pipes (12 rebounds) and Quantice Hunter paced the Royals with 10 apiece.

Images: Larkin vs. Rockford East boys basketball

  Larkin guard Shaquille Mosley (25) goes up and over Rockford’s Darshawn Pumphrey-King (12) during the consolation title game at the Elgin Holiday Tournament Thursday. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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