East denies Larkin 205 Tip-Off Classic title

ROCKFORD - The East E-Rabs registered the most impressive win for a NIC-10 team at this week's 205 Tip-Off Classic and denied Elgin Larkin, the event's most loyal visitor, its first Classic title.

Jemere Jefferson scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half as the E-Rabs rallied to beat Larkin, 59-56, handing the Royals their first loss of the season.

The result meant Larkin, which has played in every Tip-Off Classic since it was started in 2014, finished the week-long event at 4-1. It also means the tournament trophy will go to this year's splashy newcomer, East St. Louis, which went 4-0. 

It was a redemption game for Jefferson. The senior guard, who was special mention All-NIC-10 for the Jefferson J-Hawks last season, started the Tip-Off Classic strong with 16 points against North Chicago on Friday morning. But he was held scoreless by East St. Louis Friday night.

The game was back-and-forth throughout. The E-Rabs scored eight of the first 10 points only to see the Royals roll to a 28-22 lead at halftime. The Royals pushed the lead to seven, 35-28, but the E-Rabs went on a 13-2 run to grab a 41-37 lead.

Larkin opened the fourth quarter by scoring the first five points to jump back in front and the teams traded the lead several times. Larkin suffered a major blow with 2:04 to play. East was leading 55-52 when Damari Wheeler-Thomas, who set the all-time career Tip-Off Classic scoring record during the game, committed his fifth foul on what initially looked like a steal and breakaway layup.

Without Wheeler-Thomas, who finished the game with 18 points, East was able to hold off the Royals despite making two out of six free throws in the final two minutes.

East's defense throughout was solid. Although Wheeler-Thomas got 18, he came into the game averaging 25.5. The E-Rabs also slowed down Fernando Perez Jr., who averaged 20.5 points in his first four Tip-Off games but managed just nine against East. Jordan Blakley, a sophomore, scored 12 points for the Royals and Armani Ivy had 10.

East got solid contributions from junior forward Matthews Hoarde, who came off the bench to score 11 points. Rashard Young had nine points and NeSean Hardaway had eight, including hitting all four of his free throws in the fourth quarter.

The E-Rabs went 3-1 in the Tip-Off Classic. They are the defending NIC-10 champions, but they have an entirely new starting five. They begin defense of the conference title on Wednesday when they host Jefferson. East travels to Boylan Catholic High School on Friday.

Rockford East 59, Elgin Larkin 56
Elgin Larkin
Player	2s	3s	FT	FTA	Pts
Perez	3	1	0	0	9
Sharpe	0	0	0	0	0
Harvey	0	0	0	0	0
Stubbs	1	0	1	2	3
Wheeler-Thomas	3	3	3	4	18
Colen-York	0	0	0	0	0
Jakob Blakley	1	3	1	2	12
James Blakley	0	0	0	0	0
Maxie	2	0	0	0	4
Ivy	4	0	2	2	10
Totals	14	7	7	10	56
Rockford East
Player	2s	3s	FT	FTA	Pts
Crawford	1	0	0	1	2
Bates	3	0	1	2	7
Young	3	1	0	0	9
Hardaway	1	0	6	8	8
Jefferson	5	1	4	7	17
Jones-Sullivan	0	0	0	0	0
Kyles	1	1	0	0	5
Harris	0	0	0	0	0
Hoarde	5	0	1	3	11
Totals	19	3	12	21	59
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Larkin	5	23	11	17	56
East	8	14	19	18	59