Geneva’s Matt Johnston started Friday night with a flourish. And his finishing touch was even better.
The junior guard went airborne for a putback dunk to begin the game, then drilled a critical 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help the Vikings close out a 66-61 Upstate Eight River victory over host Larkin.
“We have a lot of guys who can step up and no one’s scared to shoot the ball,” Johnston said.
The Vikings’ balance was a testimony. Geneva (19-5, 5-3) had five players score in double figures, including Brandon Schleicher with 15 and Johnston with 14.
Johnston was the key. He hit the clutch 3-pointer from the corner with 2:15 left to pad Geneva’s margin. He also slipped inside to score the go-ahead layup with 3:00 left.
“That three in the corner was huge, it really was,” Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. “It was a shot that was a good look at the basket — we trust him to shoot those. He’s one of our guys.
“We tell them if you’ve got an open shot, you want to shoot it.”
Schleicher provided the defense to seal the second win by Geneva over Larkin (12-8, 5-3) this season.
After Johnston’s layup made it 53-51, Schleicher took a charge to get the ball back for Johnston’s 3-pointer. Then Schleicher took another charge from Christian Negron, who led all scorers with 22 points.
“We knew that we had to be there to get a stop, pick up charges somehow,” Schleicher said. “Help defense, that’s just what we preach. I just happened to be there at the right time and picked up the charges.”
A technical foul on Larkin coach Deryn Carter on the second charge put Schleicher at the line. He made both free throws for a 58-51 lead. The Vikings clinched at the line, climbing into a second-place tie in the Upstate Eight River with Larkin.
While Geneva’s finish was flawless, the start was exciting. The 6-foot-2 Johnston went up for a rebound and sailed so high got one hand on it and jammed it through for a dunk to open the scoring. It showed the Vikings’ readiness.
“It’s my first putback dunk,” Johnston said. “It really got the energy going at the start. I think it boosted us into the game.”
The Vikings shot 12-for-20 in the second half, including 7-for-11 in the fourth quarter. Geneva’s Bennett Fuzak scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth and teammate Jordan Vedder finished with 13.
“It’s like coach was telling us,” Larkin guard Keyvon Kyles said. “We were playing really hard on defense, really hard on defense, and then somebody lets up and it’s an easy layup and we can’t have that.”
Offense was at least as much a problem for Larkin as stopping Geneva. The rangy Vikings made good looks at the basket difficult to come by for every Royal except Negron, who had 11 points in the fourth.
Larkin shot 6-for-25 over the second and third quarters. Kyles finished with 11 points and was the only Royal besides Negron to get into double figures.
“That could be something to do with their defense,” said Carter, who was denied his 100th career coaching win. “It could be because it was one of those nights. When we’re playing well, we’re definitely more balanced.”
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