Hot-shooting Larkin derails Geneva

Larkin's boys basketball team won't chalk up Friday's 58-46 win over Geneva as an early season statement game, but it certainly became the Royal standard for the amount of effort needed the rest of the season.

After not playing their best basketball of late - which included a lackluster win over Elgin on Tuesday - the Royals pulled a 180 and came out refocused, energized and really let it rip.

A rejuvenated Larkin, on its home floor, shot a sizzling 66.7 percent form the field, missing just 4 shots in the first half and 11 overall on 33 shot attempts. The Royals (5-2, 3-0) also played inside-out through 6-foot-10 senior Jalen Shaw, who finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals.

Shaw dominated the post on both ends, helping Larkin score 26 points inside. But Shaw also opened the floor and got his teammates involved, who were more than just ready on the perimeter where it was no different, scoring 21 from midrange and beyond.

"After Elgin, we've been working hard in practice," Shaw said. "We finally understand that we have to play as a team, rotate the ball, give it to me and I kick it out."

"We came in Wednesday with a different mental approach to practice," Royals coach Deryn Carter added. "We needed an effort. We needed a concentrated, mental effort like this."

Senior Anthony Lynch turned in a game-high 18 points in Upstate Eight River action while Kindrel Morris added 11 including two 3-point field goals. Jackson Reuter also scored 7 big points off the bench in the first half.

But Morris and Shaw were key to Larkin racing out a 15-4 first quarter lead and Shaw finished off one of Geneva's 14 turnovers along the baseline for an up-and-under and a 26-12 lead with 5:45 left. It was one of the many moves he threw at the Vikings throughout.

"We tried three different defenses on Shaw," said Vikings coach Scott Hennig. "He passed out of the double teams, had a plethora of post moves. Made his free throws. He's a high D-1 player for a reason. And they have a lot of nice pieces around him."

Those other pieces for Larkin opened up a 17-point third quarter lead and gave Geneva problems, shooting 40 percent. The Vikings (5-2, 1-1), led by Jack McDonald and Joshua Preston who each had 12 points and 5 rebounds, saw their 4-game win streak snapped as Larkin turned up the pressure. Besides Geneva's 20-point fourth quarter, its quarter point total dropped from 12 to 8 to 6 during the first 3 quarters.

"We like playing fast and from defense to offense," Lynch said. "I think we came out with a lot of energy. Against Elgin we were laid back but we came out pretty strong and we need to keep doing this."

Geneva cut the lead down to 8 thanks to a late 9-3 run with a minute left in the fourth and played its best at the end.

"It was a game of runs and they can score so quickly, especially in transition. We didn't shoot it well. We had a few wasted possessions," Hennig said. "We jacked a couple of shots and a lot of that goes to Larkin and their pressure and their athleticism."