Turnovers cost Glenbard East in loss at Larkin

Rams commit 25 turnovers in 64-47 loss

ELGIN – During a time of transition for everyone, it took Larkin’s basketball team a little longer than usual to get going Friday night.

But once the Royals got their transition game working, everything else fell right into place during their 64-47 Upstate Eight Conference victory over Glenbard East at the Palace in Elgin.

With the game tied at 38-38 late in the third quarter, Larkin junior guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas’ driving layup gave the Royals (1-1, 1-0) a 40-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.

That was a sign of things to come, as the Royals added seven more unanswered points to open the fourth quarter and extended their margin to 47-38 on Wheeler-Thomas’ layup off a steal and assist from Jamarion Stubbs (nine points) with 6:21 remaining.

“During the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, we brought it and that was the difference in the game,” said Wheeler-Thomas, who finished with a game-high 21 points and 5 rebounds. “Transition — that was the big halftime speech. We needed to push the ball up the court.”

Larkin’s 9-0 run eventually turned into a 23-4 tear that turned a close game into a commanding 61-42 advantage with 2:13 remaining.

The surge, keyed by 11 points from Wheeler-Thomas, also included 10 fourth-quarter points from Fernando Perez (16 points, 14 rebounds) and four steals and three assists from Stubbs.

“I just think we got into a little better rhythm,” Royals coach Deryn Carter said. “Sometimes, we needed to be a step slower and sometimes we needed to be a step faster.

“I’m happy with the way we responded. We didn’t have our best, and some of that was what they (the Rams) were doing, but to win going away without your best, that’s a sign of a good basketball team.”

Joe Hamilton scored a team-high 13 points to go with three steals, while LaDonus Rogers added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Rams, who committed 25 turnovers.

“That has been the story so far,” Rams coach Al Biancalana said. “We had more than 30 turnovers on Tuesday night against Stevenson. We don’t have good ball security, and we don’t make good decisions with the basketball. We have a lot of inexperience in ballhandling roles, so we have to keep working at it.

“We had three turnovers in a row that they converted into baskets. When you don’t get a chance to shoot at the basket, it makes it tough on your team defense.”

Trace Boley and Dearrius Clardy chipped in with 6 and 5 points, respectively, for Larkin.

“It was our second game and it looked like it for both teams,” Carter said. “It was the first game where we played some guys extended minutes. We’ll take it.”