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Elgin lets down after Larkin win, loses to Genoa-Kingston

Elgin had quite a day. After an emotional win over archrival Larkin that ended late Friday night, the Maroons faced a noon appointment with Genoa-Kingston at the E.C. Nichols Tournament in Marengo.

Elgin then fought through a taut game with the Cogs that went down to the last possession. Despite a spirited fourth-quarter comeback led by Trey Yarber, the Maroons found themselves on the short end of a 48-45 score.

Trailing 42-32 halfway through the fourth, the Maroons started their rally with three 3-pointers, the first by Giovani Griffin and the others by Yarber, the last making it 44-41.

Yarber had another 3-point attempt to tie, but was fouled. He made the first 2 free throws before missing the third.

After the teams traded buckets, Genoa's Will Franson tipped in a missed free throw, his only points of the day, to make it 48-45.

The Cogs fouled Xavier Bonds rather than allow a possible tying 3-pointer. Bonds missed the front of the 1-and-1. He tracked down the rebound and got off an off-balance 3-point attempt that missed at the buzzer.

Friday night, the Maroons edged Larkin, 55-52, before a packed house on the west side. Saturday afternoon, they faced the Cogs in a nearly empty Homer "Bill" Barry Gymnasium.

"We came out to a real slow start and we said that we needed to keep the same intensity as we did yesterday," Yarber said. "It came a little bit too late in the second half."

Yarber finished with 20 points to easily lead all scorers. Jeffery Lomax added 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Bonds finished with 6 points and 6 boards for Elgin (3-8).

Griffin Hansen and Justin Peters scored 12 points apiece for Genoa. The 5-foot-10 Hansen also grabbed 9 rebounds, leading the Cogs to a 34-26 edge on the boards.

"That's what tournament basketball is, the ability to play different styles, different atmospheres, and ultimately things are in your control," said Elgin coach Dave Hess. "We talked about competing for the whole 32 [minutes] and that's part of what we're trying to build, so that's there, but the execution … yeah."

The Maroons led most of the first half before a 13-2 run gave the Cogs a 27-20 halftime advantage. In the third, Elgin got within 30-27 only to see the Cogs pull away again.

The teams' field-goal shooting numbers were nearly identical: Genoa made 17 of 50 while Elgin shot 17-for-49. The difference was in free throws, where the Cogs shot 19 to the Maroons' 8. G-K helped Elgin out by making just 8 of those 19 foul shots, but the 3 extra makes proved to be the difference in the game.

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