Shaun Palmer scored 28 points and Dave Binion scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to lead Larkin past St. Charles 73-67 Saturday in Elgin to take sole possession of first place in the Upstate Eight.
With the victory, Larkin, the Tribune`s 11th-ranked team, improved to 18-2 overall and 8-2 in the Upstate Eight.
St. Charles (13-5, 7-3) had battled back from a 13-point deficit in the first half to knot the score at 65-65 on a pair of free throws from Matt Gullickson (24 points) with 1 minute 51 seconds to go. But the Saints missed their last five attempts from the field, with Larkin holding them to just two free throws down the stretch.
”We just came out and played tough,” said Palmer, who was 4 of 5 from the line in the final period. ”They cut our lead down a bit but we knew what we had to do. We just rose to the occasion.”
Plagued by dismal first-half shooting, St. Charles trailed 30-24 at intermission. But the Saints came back to go 9 of 13 in the third quarter, and pulled even at 40-40 on Gullickson`s three-pointer with 3:54 left in the period. Larkin led 53-48 at the end of the quarter.
Gullickson scored 12 of his points in the third period.
Larkin jumped out to a fast start, going 8 of 15 (53 percent) from the field in the opening quarter, led by Palmer`s 11 points, to take a 21-11 lead after the first period.
The Royals had a little help from St. Charles, with the Saints committing six turnovers in the quarter.
During one stretch, with Larkin holding a slim 13-6 lead, St. Charles committed three straight turnovers, each resulting in Larkin baskets as the Royals took a 19-6 advantage.
St. Charles was able to get back in the game, however, with Larkin turning the ball over nine times in the second quarter.
St. Charles managed to pull within 30-24 on a layup by J.T. McFarland with :36 remaining in the half.
What stopped St. Charles from overtaking the Royals was horrible shooting. St. Charles was 10 of 30 from the field and 3 of 7 from the line in the opening half. The Royals also committed 11 turnovers for the half.
Palmer ended up with 12 first-half points to pace Larkin. McFarland netted 12 in the first half for St. Charles.
St. Charles came into the contest in a must-win situation, as far as the Upstate Eight race is concerned.
On Friday, the Saints lost an important game to West Aurora, 48-47. That loss dropped St. Charles into a first-place tie with Larkin and set up Saturday`s pivotal matchup.
On the other hand, Larkin squeaked past crosstown rival Elgin 52-46 on Friday, putting itself in a position to snare first place in the Upstate Eight.
