advertisement

Larkin handles Freeport in opener

ROCKFORD - Larkin clearly came prepared to play a full 32 minutes.

The Royals' boys basketball team shook off a sluggish start against a determined Freeport squad, utilizing their relentless pressure and transition game to pull away for a 78-54 season-opening victory Monday night in the Rockford Tip-Off Classic at Auburn.

Larkin 6-foot-6 junior forward Christian Negron displayed a solid midrange game to go along with a handful of highlight reel dunks in an impressive 25-point, 13-rebound performance.

Senior guard A.J. Hunter sliced his way through the Freeport defense, collecting 16 points and 7 rebounds while sophomore Jalen Shaw added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"Freeport came out pretty strong in the first half, but we run a lot in practice and you could tell they started getting a little tired," Hunter said. "We're a guard-heavy team so we have to push and just run, run, run."

"We're going to play fast and hope that conditioning becomes part of the game in the third and fourth quarter," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We were missing a couple of guys today, so we'd like to get even more depth."

Freeport led 16-14 after one quarter behind 9 points from junior Zeke Vandenburgh, but the Royals went on a 13-5 run in the opening 4 minutes of the second quarter and settled for a 37-31 edge at halftime.

Negron and Hunter combined for 28 first half points while Keion Adams added 5.

"Freeport was ready to go and they played hard. They play in a great league and they have a lot of guys coming back," Carter said.

The Royals turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, forcing 8 turnovers which led to 10 transition points.

Shaw and fellow sophomore Tariq Burns pounded the offensive glass for consecutive follow-up baskets and Keyvon Kyles closed out the quarter with a long 3-pointer to extend the lead to 59-40.

"We get most of our offense from our defense," Negron said. "We get the ball and then we just push. We run our transition plays and get a lot of looks out of that."

Carter was pleased with the way his team moved the ball and found Negron open for numerous baseline jumpers

"He's added that to his game and our guys were conscious of trying to get him the ball in the half court," Carter said. "Giving him the ball is going to get other guys open shots because teams are going to run double and triple team at him."

Kindrell Morris and Kyles finished with 7 points each while Mardis added 6. The Royals held a 47-37 rebounding edge, but made just 7 of 19 free throw attempts.

"In the gym tomorrow that's what we're going to be working on. That can't happen in closer games," Negron said.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.