Pike rallies, hangs on to nip Larkin

ROCKFORD -- Elijah Pennington blocked Keyvon Kyles' three-point shot attempt with five seconds to play and Pike High School of Indianapolis held on to defeat Elgin Larkin 64-61 in Friday's marquee matchup at East High School.

Pike trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half after Kyles hit three straight three-pointers in the first 1:11 to shoot Larkin out to an early lead. But the Red Devils battled back to tie the game at 28 with 2:29 remaining in the first half and trailed only 32-30 at the break.

Pike got its first lead with 7:17 to play in the third quarter on a basket by Derek Hawthorne to make it 34-32. A nine-point run gave Pike a 51-42 edge with 2:39 to play in the third, but two free throws by Jalen Shaw and another three-pointer by Kyles brought the Royals within 51-47 entering the final eight minutes.

Larkin never led again but trailed only 61-60 after Christian Negron sank two free throws with 2:42 remaining.

Kyles shared game scoring honors with Pike's Justin Thomas, each with 16 points. Hawthorne and Durante Lee each had 10 points for Pike, which was seeing its first tournament action and is 2-0 on the season.

A.J. Hunter had 13 points, Negron 11 and Shaw 10 for Larkin. The highly regarded Negron was hampered by foul trouble and didn't get his first points until 7:03 remained in the third quarter.

Pike plays Auburn at 1:15 p.m. Saturday on the Knights' floor. Larkin, 1-2 in the tournament and the season, faces Janesville Parker, 1-0, at 3 p.m. Saturday at Auburn.

Pike 64, Larkin 61
Larkin 21 9 17 14 -- 61
Pike 11 19 21 13 -- 64
LARKIN -- Hunter 4 4-4 13, Adams 1 3-4 5, Kyles 4 4-4 16, Morris 1 0-0 2, Negron 4 3-5 11, Mardis 1 0-0 2, Shaw 4 2-4 10, Burns 1 0-0,2, Totals 20 16-21 61.
PIKE -- Roberts 3 2-3 8, Thomas 6 4-6 16, Williams 1 2-2 4, Hawthorne 4 2-3 10, Porch 2 1-2 5, Vernon 1 0-0 3, James 2 2-7 6, Cook 1 0-0 2, Lee 4 2-4 10, Totals 24 15-27 64.
3pt FG -- Larkin 5 (Kyles 4, Hunter), Pike 1 (Vernon).