South Elgin holds off Larkin
South Elgin's basketball team did just enough to win Thursday night.
Hitting 11 of 14 of its free throws in the fourth quarter while committing just 4 second-half turnovers, the Storm (3-2, 1-0) opened their Upstate Eight Conference season with a hard-fought 56-50 victory over Larkin in South Elgin.
"Ball movement and being physical," Storm sophomore guard-forward Lane McVicar said of his team's keys down the stretch. "They're (the Royals) a real physical team so the only way to fight back is to be even more physical."
McVicar scored a game-high 20 points, 7 of them coming in the fourth quarter as the Storm held off the Royals' comeback bid.
Larkin pulled within 40-39 on a layup by Jamarion Stubbs (6 points) with 4:55 remaining before South Elgin went on a 9-2 run, capped by Wyatt Steurer's 3-pointer from the corner, to take its largest lead of the night at 49-41 with 3:11 left.
Sophomore 6-foot-4 forward-center Kendis Wiley came up big for the Storm, scoring all 9 of his points in the fourth quarter while adding a game-high 13 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and a pair of assists.
Wiley also helped the Storm beat the Royals' swarming, full-court defensive pressure with quick passes.
"He learned a little bit in the St. Joe's game (at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament) about what to do against the pressure," said Storm coach Brett Johnson. "It was nice to see him build on that."
Drew Cwik chipped in with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists as South Elgin earned its third straight win.
"I liked the effort that they continued to give the entire night," said Johnson. "I want them to continue to give effort. I thought the effort was there from everybody. Now it's about execution."
Larkin forced 15 Storm first-half turnovers while grabbing a 20-19 halftime advantage.
"I've seen enough films on Larkin to know that's how they're going to play and we've struggled with pressure," said Johnson. "We are going to continue to struggle with pressure until our kids grow up.
"We're young so games like this are good for them because it's only going to make them better."
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 18 points for Larkin (0-6, 0-2), which started 4 sophomores of its own.
"We've got to have a higher level of mental focus," said Royals coach Deryn Carter. "I can't fault the effort for the most part but I still think we've got a little more in us to play harder."
After making just 14 of 24 free throws in a 59-56 loss to Glenbard South Tuesday night, the Royals struggled to a 16 of 29 performance from the line against South Elgin.
"That's our fourth game that has come down to the last couple possessions," said Carter. "We've got to do the little things.
"It's a tough loss."