Strong first half sends South Elgin past Larkin

South Elgin may have had a letdown in the second half on Friday night, but they could more than afford it after a tremendous first half.

The Storm could do little wrong as they built a 40-20 halftime lead against visiting Larkin and then coasted to a 55-42 win in Upstate Eight Conference action. The win keeps South Elgin (13-6, 7-2) within 2 games of conference front-runner West Aurora.

"That first half was one of the best one's we have had all year," South Elgin coach Brett Johnson said. "We really got it done on the defensive end. Larkin is a quick athletic team and I thought we did a good job of keeping them in front of us and contesting shots. We guarded as one team and that's what we need to do."

Vincent Miszkiewicz set the tone early on the defensive end with a couple blocked shots in the opening minute. Larkin went on to shoot just 2 of 19 from inside the arc in the first half.

"I thought the whole team played phenomenal defense," Miszkiewicz said. "Getting those blocks at the start got our energy up. Even when we struggled to score in the second half we continued to play defense and that kept us in the lead."

Miszkiewicz finished with a game-high 18 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks.

"Vince knows what he needs to do and he just does it," Johnson said. "I think his decision making on blocks has got a lot better. He's become more patient instead of just jumping and swatting. His whole game just continues to develop and get better."

On the offensive end it was some sharp perimeter shooting that set the tone for South Elgin early on. Jace Warrick knocked down a couple 3-pointers in the first quarter. He finished with 12 points.

Lane Mcvicar also had a 3-pointer in the opening quarter as the Storm jumped to an 18-6 lead. The outside shooting opened the floodgates inside for Miszkiewicz, who scored 10 of his points in the second quarter, as South Elgin continued to build on its lead.

"When you make shots good things are going to happen," Johnson said. "I thought we pushed the ball up the floor tonight and knocked down some shots early to get us going."

Larkin was short-handed with 5 players out due to injury and started 2 freshmen. After their struggles in the first half and a brief but effective halftime talk the Royals played much better in the second half. They outscored the Storm 22-15 over the final two quarters.

"I think you try to take something from both halves and learn from them," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "I was encouraged with the way they responded from the halftime message. It's never a lack of desire with this team. It just continues to be a learning process."

Damari Wheeler-Thomas had 12 points to lead the Royals in scoring. Fernando Perez added 11 points.