Larkin holds off Streamwood
Coming off a pair of double-figure losses during its Missouri trip last weekend, Larkin's basketball team got back on the winning track Tuesday night.
Senior Victor Perez scored 9 of his team-leading 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Royals (4-8, 3-2) held off a furious late comeback from Streamwood (3-7, 2-3) while beating the host Sabres 59-56 in Upstate Eight Conference action.
"I'm happy for them to get the win," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We had a rough weekend in Missouri (at the Route 66 Shootout) on the court but it was a phenomenal weekend for the team and program."
The Royals were forced to play catch-up after falling behind by as much as 17-4 late in the opening quarter.
Led by sophomore point guard Zach Marquez (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and senior forward Nick Droll (14 points), the Sabres connected on 8 of their first 11 field-goal attempts while building the early double-digit advantage.
However, Larkin retaliated with 15 unanswered points, capped by a 3-pointer from freshman Fernando Perez (11 points) that gave the Royals their first lead at 19-17 early in the second quarter.
"We got off to a great start and then we sputtered," said Sabres coach Kent Payne.
Droll and Marquez combined for 18 first-half points as Streamwood clung to a 27-26 halftime lead.
The lead failed to last, however, as the Royals grabbed the lead for good at 32-31 on a nifty up-and-under layup by junior Jashon Johnson-Neals (12 points) with 6:09 left in the third quarter.
Johnson-Neals added 3 more inside baskets during a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 38-31.
Larkin led 43-38 after 3 quarters.
The Royals continued to take it to the basket in the fourth quarter.
Layups from Victor Perez and Johnson-Neals, and Fernando Perez' 3-point play upped Larkin's lead to 52-42 with 5 minutes remaining.
"We're all guards so we all have the ability to attack the hoop," said Victor Perez. "We play with a lot of aggression and confidence."
"We liked the first half," said Payne. "In the second half, they just got us off the dribble way too much."
Trailing 56-46, the Sabres pulled within 58-56 on a runner by Nikola Sinik (8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots) with 42 seconds remaining.
After Victor Perez split a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds left, Streamwood senior forward Keenon Cole's potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out with 3 seconds remaining.
Cole finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
"We kept competing," said Payne. "It came down to two possessions. We had a shot at the end to tie it - that's all you can ask. We competed the whole 32 minutes."
Despite being outrebounded 40-22, the Royals forced 21 turnovers while committing only 9.
"We're small and we're going to get outrebounded a lot but we've got to win the possession battle on the turnover side," said Carter, whose team hosts Elgin Friday night.
"The offense was good enough but the defensive effort was special. Keenon (Cole) is one of the best players in the state. Christopher Rose, Vic Perez and Jashon (Johnson-Neals) did their individual jobs but the whole team did a great job defensively."