‘It feels amazing’: Blue Devils put past disappointment to rest, beat Ironmen for sectional championship

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — No over-the-counter remedy could help those associated with the Quincy High School boys basketball program overcome the gnawing disappointment which had lingered for the equivalent of a calendar year.

This wasn’t heartburn.

This was heartache.

“We know what it feels like to be one inch away,” said senior point guard Kamren Wires, recalling the last-second, one-point loss to Normal Community in last year’s sectional championship game. “I know none of our guys wanted that feeling ever again.”

They don’t have to endure it a day longer.

Retribution is theirs.

The Blue Devils responded to allowing Normal Community to score on the opening possession of overtime by taking the lead for good on Bradley Longcor III’s 3-pointer and salting away a 61-54 victory in Friday night’s Class 4A Collinsville Sectional championship game with defense and free throws.

“It feels amazing,” senior forward Keshaun Thomas said. “To come in here and get one back from them, that’s amazing. It was a nail-biter for sure. To pull it out the way we did, to have belief in each other, it was a great moment.”

The belief their demons would be exorcised never wavered.

“During one of our classes today, Keshaun and I were watching the video of the last play of last year’s game and it fueled us,” Longcor said of the Quincy turnover that led to a Normal Community layin as the buzzer sounded for a 44-43 victory. “It got us ready. It got us motivated. It got us fueled.”

More importantly, it got the Blue Devils (31-3) in the mood for a dogfight.

“We knew nothing was going to be easy,” said Longcor, who finished with 21 points. “We just had to stay focused, stay ready and stay calm.”

They did, even when it felt like the game was teetering away.

Neither team led by more than seven points with Quincy owning a 43-36 advantage in the fourth quarter, but Normal Community refused to go away. The Ironmen went on an 8-2 run to pull within 45-44 with 1:28 remaining. Wires split a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go, and Normal’s Owen Osborn made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:10 to go as the Blue Devils held a 46-45 lead.

Longcor was fouled with 50 seconds remaining and made both free throws for a 48-45 lead, and Normal Community called timeout with 41.7 seconds to play. After the inbounds play, the Ironmen threw the ball to 6-foot-9 forward Kobe Walker on the right block. Walker went into Thomas, drawing a foul while making the basket. He made the free throw to tie the game at 48 with 31.5 seconds left.

The Blue Devils didn’t get a shot off before the buzzer on the final possession, sending the game to overtime.

“It was, ‘We got this,’” Longcor said of the talk in the huddle before overtime began. “I knew it the whole time. So I was like, ‘We got this. Trust me, we got this.’ We had to keep our composure and keep playing our game.”

The Blue Devils had to do so without Thomas, who picked up his fifth foul on the play late in regulation.

Walker, who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, took advantage of that, corralling an offensive rebound on the first possession of overtime and making the putback for the lead. Longcor answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Blue Devils held the advantage thereafter, leading 57-54 with less than 30 seconds remaining when Wires made the defensive play of the game.

With Normal’s Trey Burditt bringing the ball into the frontcourt, Wires used his left hand to knock the ball loose, dove to corral it and called timeout to preserve the possession. Wires proceeded to draw a foul and make both free throws with 9.4 seconds left to seal the victory.

“He made massive plays,” Quincy coach Andy Douglas said. “Massive plays.”

Truth be told, they all did in winning the 32nd sectional championship in program history and earning a spot opposite Lisle Benet Academy at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Class 4A super-sectional at CEFCU Arena on the Illinois State University campus in Normal.

Benet (30-5) beat Downers Grove North 44-32 to win the sectional it hosted.

“The preparation starts Saturday morning when we get in the gym,” said Thomas, who had 12 points. “There’s still business to take care of. This feels great. This is something that has been on our minds, but it’s time to move forward. We have work to do.”