Larkin downs West Chicago for 1st win
Larkin's boys basketball team was definitely happy to pick up its first win of the year against West Chicago, but the Royals were less than satisfied with the way they finished the game.
The Wildcats erased a 16-point second half deficit to tie the game at 44 before Larkin pulled away again for a 55-50 victory in Upstate Eight action in Elgin.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 22 points and made 5 crucial free throws down the stretch for Larkin. Fernando Perez Jr. scored all of his 11 points in the third quarter, when the Royals built a 43-29 lead.
Larkin's rotation includes 4 sophomores and a freshman, and the inexperience showed in the fourth quarter, when the Wildcats' pressing, trapping defense forced turnovers on 10 of the Royals' first 13 possessions. That allowed the Wildcats to reel off a 15-1 run to tie the game.
The Royals (1-8, 1-2) regained their composure, however, scoring 6 straight points at the foul line. Jamarion Stubbs made 2 free throws, and Wheeler-Thomas connected on 4 in a row to put Larkin ahead for good.
"In the locker room, I could feel that they're happy that they won, but they didn't like the way they finished the game," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "That was a pleasant surprise, from the vibe that I saw in the locker room. With young guys, I thought I was going to go in there and they were going to pretend like we won a regional or something."
The Royals realize that they need to keep their composure down the stretch to keep winning games.
"We've got to handle the pressure more," said Wheeler-Thomas. "Because we had a lot of turnovers down the stretch and our offense turned into their offense."
The Wildcats couldn't convert enough of the turnovers into points. They made just two 3-pointers for the game and shot 6-of-14 from the free-throw line.
"We shot poorly from beyond the arc, we're a better shooting team than that, but that happens," said West Chicago coach Bill Recchia. "Defense is a constant. Defense kept us in this game, defense has kept us in every game so far this year."
Christian Krahenbulh scored 13 points and Jacob Lim 11 for West Chicago (0-7, 0-3). Marque Phillips and Daniel Roldan added 9 apiece for the Wildcats.
Led by Perez with 12 rebounds and Dontrell Maxie with 8, the Royals dominated the backboards, 41-20, but they also committed 27 turnovers for the game.
"We've had 3 games where we did a lot of really good things in the fourth quarter and lost," Carter said. "So I'll take this, not doing a lot of good things, but doing enough to win."