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St. Charles East topples Larkin

The St. Charles East boys basketball team still has a pulse when it comes to the Upstate Eight River race, thanks to Friday's 59-52 win over frustrated Larkin in St. Charles.

Senior guard J.T. Ford scored a career-best 21 points and senior guard Evan DiLeonardi added 11 points for the Saints, who used transition layups and a patient offense to shoot 60 percent from the field (21 of 35).

The victory draws St. Charles East (12-8, 6-3) within 2 games of UEC River leader Batavia (17-8, 8-1) with 3 games to play. Batavia lost 52-39 on Friday at Geneva (20-5, 6-3). The Saints finish conference play with road dates at Geneva and Larkin and a season-ending home game against Batavia on Feb. 24.

"We just have to keep winning, keep playing good basketball," Ford said.

St. Charles East led 40-39 in the fourth quarter when Ford scored from the lane on consecutive possessions to put his team ahead by 5.

Larkin again drew within a point at 45-44 on a free throw by Keyvon Kyles with 2:48 remaining, but the Saints broke the Larkin press and got the ball to Ford alone under the basket for a layup that triggered a decisive 9-3 run.

"There were times when they were helping too high and I just dropped down low and my teammates were finding me," said Ford, whose 9-of-10 shooting performance included a pair of 3-pointers.

"I'm just glad for him," Saints coach Patrick Woods said, "but, more importantly, glad for us that we've got him and we were able to finish it out tonight."

St. Charles East's man-to-man defense blanketed the Larkin offense. The Royals shot 19 of 48 from the field (39.6 percent) and star Christian Negron was limited to 5 points due to constant double-teams from DiLeonardi and Zach Hondlik. Negron's previous season low was a 10-point outing against Streamwood on Dec. 8.

"It was something they did last year," Negron said of the double teams. "I should have been a little bit more prepared for that. We're going to play them again so that's something we're going to have to work on in practice. It was tough to get into our motion."

Royals coach Deryn Carter called the result "disappointing" and said "we have to get better in the next three weeks. We have to get better."

Larkin (12-9, 5-4) won the turnover battle 15-8, but the Saints finished with 22 rebounds to Larkin's 17.

AJ Hunter scored 8 of his 12 points in the third quarter to help Larkin erase a 26-14 halftime deficit. Keyvon Kyles scored 11 of his 12 points in the second quarter. Keion Adams scored 9 points for the Royals, who have dropped 2 straight.

Images: Larkin vs. St. Charles East boys basketball

  Larkin's Trell Mardis goes to the hoop past St. Charles East's Zachary Mitchell Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Larkin's Keion Adams looks to pass around St. Charles East's J.T. Ford Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Larkin's AJ Hunter on his way to the hoop Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Larkin's Keion Adams splits St. Charles East's Evan DiLeonardi (12) and Benjamin Talarczyk on his way to the hoop Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Evan DiLeonardi tries to swat the shot of Larkin's AJ Hunter Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Justin Hardy puts some pressure on Larkin's A J Hunter Friday at St. Charles East. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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