Fuzak goes down but Geneva hangs on vs. Larkin
Leading scorer Bennett Fuzak missed the final 3:52 of Friday's Upstate Eight River game against visiting Larkin with concussion-like symptoms, but the Geneva boys basketball team still found a way to hang on for a 56-53 win.
Fuzak scored on an inside bucket to stake the Vikings to a 49-44 lead, but he was hit with what seemed to be an inadvertent elbow as he went up for the shot.
The 6-foot-8 senior reached for his head upon landing, took several steps toward midcourt, fell to the hardwood and did not respond to trainers for approximately 30 seconds. Dazed, he was helped off the court and did not return.
Larkin (5-3, 2-1) rallied in Fuzak's absence. Senior guard AJ Hunter's 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:21 left capped a 7-2 run that tied the game 51-51.
Geneva (6-1, 1-1) answered on its ensuing possession when 6-8 senior forward Jordan Vedder capitalized on an entry pass from Matt Johnston with a short baseline floater. His shot put the Vikings ahead to stay, though they hardly slammed the door.
Geneva missed 3 of 6 free throws in the final minute. When Cole Navigato split 2 free throws with 6.6 seconds left, Larkin had one last chance to tie. However, the play designed for guard Keyvon Kyles was defended well by the Vikings. The senior was forced to pass and the ball ended up in the hands of Christian Negron, whose desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short of the rim.
"We showed some resilience tonight," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "That Larkin team is about as good as any that's in this area, and I thought our kids played really tough down the stretch in the end. There weren't many parts of the finish that were pretty. I think we more than once left the door open for Larkin, but I'd say this came down to being resilient and our guys were able to close it out."
Negron sank 3 of 5 attempts from 3-point range in a 20-point first half with Illinois assistant coach Jamall Walker in the building. However, the 6-foot-6 forward picked up 3 quick third-quarter fouls and took a seat after his fourth foul with four minutes left in the period. He finished a point shy of his season high with 24 points to go with 5 rebounds, a season low.
Vedder scored 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for the Vikings, who used a 29-12 rebounding advantage to offset 20 turnovers compared to 9 by Larkin.
Geneva also benefited from a tightly officiated game. The Royals were whistled for 33 fouls compared to 13 for Geneva. The Vikings wore out a path to the free-throw line as a result, sinking 23 of 33 attempts. Larkin sank 11 of 13 from the line.
"We were doing a really good job of getting in and pressuring guys, but you can't speed 'em up from the free-throw line," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "I don't know how many (free throws) they shot, but they shot a lot of them and it really chopped up the game. We have to do a better job of not fouling.
"It's tough for our guys to make that adjustment, but if we want to be special we have to make that adjustment and learn on the fly how the refs are going to call the game."
Larkin led 15-12 after a quarter, highlighted by a two-handed, fast-break dunk by Negron, which was set up smartly by Keion Adams' pass off the backboard. Larkin led 28-26 at the half.
Kyles finished with 13 points and Hunter added 11 for Larkin.
Cole Navigato scored 9 of his 13 points from the free throw line for Geneva.