Not pretty finish, but Larkin survives Rockford Lutheran

Of Jalen Shaw's many contributions to Larkin's latest victory, his biggest was a free throw.

Shaw's foul shot with 5 seconds left gave Larkin's boys basketball team a 4-point cushion against visiting Rockford Lutheran. That point came in mighty handy when the Crusaders' Kenneth Strawbridge banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing the Royals to hold on for a 61-60 nonconference victory.

Until that point, the Royals had conducted a clinic on how not to close out a basketball game. Larkin had a 60-48 lead and the ball with less than 2 minutes remaining. A turnover and a missed layup led to a pair of Lutheran 3-pointers.

Lutheran, still down 6, had to foul. The Royals then missed the front ends of three 1-and-1s on the same possession. Lutheran finally controlled a rebound and Strawbridge nailed a 3 to make it 60-57.

Larkin inbounded to Shaw who was fouled. He promptly missed the first free throw, but made the second, rendering Strawbridge's buzzer-beater meaningless.

The Royals appeared to have control of the game after outscoring the Crusaders 18-4 in the third quarter. But Lutheran turned the tables in the fourth, putting up 25 points. Strawbridge himself outscored the Royals in the final period, 15-11.

"Lack of concentration, lack of focus," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. "We're gonna fix that, though. It is what it is, though. They came in ready to play. It's probably my fault that we weren't ready to play as far as preparation is concerned."

The game was a potential trap for Larkin, coming between big Upstate Eight matchups with Geneva and Batavia, but the Royals found a way to get the win.

Anthony Lynch led the way with 22 points for Larkin, 11 in each half. Shaw had another monster game with 18 points, 18 rebounds and at least 5 blocks. He altered numerous other shots against the Crusaders' 5-guard lineup.

Pierre Black chipped in 9 points, on three 3-pointers, and Kindrel Morris added 8 for Larkin.

Lutheran helped by missing layups and open 3s. The Crusaders shot just 33 percent for the game and were outrebounded 41-25.

Strawbridge finished with a game-high 28 points, and Jack Harezlak added 15 for Lutheran.

The first half was back-and-forth. Lutheran used an 11-2 spurt to open its biggest lead at 25-18.

But Larkin answered with a 13-4 run that included 2 Black 3-pointers and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Shaw. The Royals took a 32-31 lead into the locker room before opening things up in the third.