Jefferson finds new weapons in beatdown of Larkin

ROCKFORD - MyQuion Garrett exploded for 26 points and Jefferson got important contributions from seven other players in an impressive 69-58 win over Elgin Larkin.

The Royals' 6-10 center Jalen Shaw scored Larkin's first eight points, but he also picked up two quick fouls and played just five minutes in the first half. Without Shaw, Jefferson attacked with Garrett scoring 14 points in the first two quarters as the J-Hawks built a 34-20 lead.

In the third quarter, the J-Hawks got a major scare. Senior guard Quillen Dixon, who averaged 17 points per game in the first three games of the Tip-Off Classic, drove the lane against Shaw and landed awkwardly. He was helped off the floor with a knee injury and didn't return.

Without Dixon, who went scoreless in the game, Jefferson got contributions from several. Terry Ford, coming off a tournament-record 32 points against Chicago St. Rita, scored 15. Jyaire Robinson had nine. Delano Newble, an afterthought much of the first three games, had eight, and Horace Massey scored five straight points when Larkin cut the lead down to seven points in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Larkin kept trying to make a run behind Shaw and Anthony Lynch, but Jefferson made 12 of 14 free throws and the Royals never got the lead under 10 in the final eight minutes.

Jefferson finished the Tip-Off Classic with a 3-1 mark with its only loss against Chicago Whitney Young.

Elgin Larkin went 2-2. Shaw, the all-time leading career scorer in the Classic, scored 21 points and Lynch ended with 16. Pierre Black, who entered the game averaging 14 points and who hit five 3-pointers in a win over Jefferson in last year's Tip-Off Classic, was held to just three.

BOXSCORE

Rockford Jefferson 69, Elgin Larkin 58
(At Jefferson High School)

Larkin        13   7  15  23  -  58
Jefferson    14  20 17  18  -  69

Larkin - Black 1 0-0 3, Reufer 1 1-2 3, Perez 1 2-2 5, Morris 1 4-6 6, Lynch 7 1-6 16, Rose 1 0-0 2, Talley 1 0-0 2, Shaw 8 5-7 21. Totals 21 13-23 58.
Jefferson - Massey 2 0-0 5, De. Newble 2 4-7 8, Dunner 1 0-0 2, Jy. Robinson 3 0-0 9, Di. Newble 1 0-0 2, Ford 5 3-6 15, Garrett 10 5-7 26. Totals 24 14-22 69.
3-pointers - Larkin 3 (Black, Perez, Lynch), Jefferson 7 (Jy. Robinson 3, Ford 2, Massey, Garrett).