Boys Basketball: Dundee-Crown’s late charge stops Larkin’s unbeaten run

Updated: December 14, 2011 9:42PM

Right when it looked like Larkin was on its way to another victory, Dundee-Crown rose up and gave the Royals a reality check.

Trailing by 14 points with less than three minutes left in the third quarter, the Chargers showed some serious resiliency by rallying for a 66-61 nonconference win Wednesday in Carpentersville.

The outcome marked the first loss of the season for Larkin (6-1) and ended a four-game skid for Dundee-Crown (4-4). Junior guard Brandon Rodriguez led the resurgence for the Chargers, scoring 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half.

“We were at home and we wanted to get the big win,” Rodriguez said. “We were on a four-game losing streak and I didn’t want to lose another one, so I just went and attacked.”

The Royals scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed through the first three quarters. Dundee-Crown did pull within three early in the third, only to see Larkin reel off a 15-4 run to open a comfortable 52-38 advantage on Drew Jones’ basket with 2:52 left in the quarter.

The comfort didn’t last long, though, as the Chargers outhustled and outmuscled their guests the rest of the way. Dundee-Crown answered Jones’ basket with 14 straight points of its own to tie the score at 52 with 6:52 left in the fourth.

Rodriguez gave Dundee-Crown its first lead when he drained a three-pointer to make it 57-56 with 5:34 remaining. The Royals answered with a Derrick Streety bucket to regain the upper hand, but Thomas McNally and Will Stupar scored on back-to-back possessions for the Chargers to spark a 9-3 run to finish the contest as Larkin never came closer than three the rest of the way.

Suspect ballhandling proved costly for the Royals as they committed six turnovers in the third quarter after having only four in the entire first half. Larkin also went cold from the field down the stretch, making only 3-of-13 shots in the fourth quarter.

“The last quarter and a half (Dundee-Crown) played harder than we did, and they played smarter,” Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. “Hats off to them. We thought we had them on the ropes, but they responded and got the win.”

Quentin Ruff drained five of Larkin’s 10 three-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field. Quantice Hunter and Drew Jones added 12 points apiece and Antonio Pipes tallied seven points and 11 rebounds.

Cordero Parson finished with 12 points and Will Stupar chipped in 11 points for Dundee-Crown. McNally and Dylan Kissack also played key roles down the stretch for the Chargers and finished with eight points apiece.

“We’ve played some really good teams, and (Larkin) is a load to handle,” Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. “It’s kind of nice to get the monkey off our back. I don’t care who you’ve played … You need a win to have (the players) believe in what you’re doing, and we got one tonight.”

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