Boley's clutch tip helps Larkin top South Elgin

Larkin senior forward Trace Boley spends time late at every practice working on tip-in drills.

The hard work paid off against South Elgin Tuesday night.

Boley's tip-in at the regulation buzzer tied the game at 51-51, and junior guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas provided the eventual winning margin when he split a pair of free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining in overtime during the Royals' 54-53 Upstate Eight Conference victory in South Elgin.

"It's no disrespect to those other teams or games but this is one you wish the fans were in the gym for," said Larkin coach Deryn Carter, whose team improved to 4-1, 4-0. "Not just because we ended up on top. The atmosphere would have been phenomenal."

Boley, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, played a key role in the Royals' comeback from a 47-39 deficit in the final 4 minutes of the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-4 veteran tallied 9 of his points during Larkin's 20-14 final-quarter surge, which included a 3-pointer from the wing and his clutch putback of a miss by teammate Fernando Perez (17 points, 13 rebounds) in the closing seconds.

"The game plan was for him (Perez) to take the shot and me to cut (to the basket)," said Boley. "No one ended up boxing me out.

"We always practice natural tips in practice - and sometimes practice pays off in the games."

While praising Boley's efforts, Carter also offered an assist to his father/assistant coach.

"I've got to give a shoutout to my father," said Carter. "During every shooting drill, he tells the kids, 'get your natural tips - practice tipping.'

"I'm proud as heck of him (Boley). He comes from a long line of Boleys who have played for us. He made some huge plays for us."

Led by Aaron Wafford (17 points) and Drew Cwik (11 points), the Storm wasted a golden opportunity to put the game away in the final seconds when the Royals were whistled for an intentional foul with the game tied at 49-all.

However, South Elgin only cashed in on 2 of 4 free-throw attempts, setting the stage for Boley's late heroics.

"When you don't make your free throws and you don't rebound, this is what happens," said Storm coach Brett Johnson. "I've got to give it to Trace Boley. He outworked every single player on our team. He wanted the ball more.

"If we box out and make our (foul) shots, we win the game, but we didn't. It comes down to making the plays when you have to make the plays."