‘I didn’t think we’d be in this situation’: Inefficient effort offensively dooms Blue Devils in super-sectional

NORMAL, Ill. — Andy Douglas didn’t remember what he said in the locker room because he didn’t know what to say when he walked in there.

Tasked with offering some sense of comfort to his Quincy High School boys basketball team following its 58-50 loss Monday night to Lisle Benet Academy in the Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional at CEFCU Arena, the 11th-year head coach had to come up with the right words without a script to follow.

“You prepare for a lot of things as a coach, but honestly, this is one I did not prepare for,” Douglas said. “I didn’t think we’d be in this situation.”

He didn’t think the Blue Devils would trail 9-0 after failing to score on their first nine possessions, nor go the first 5 minutes, 27 seconds of the game without a point.

He didn’t expect to see a three-point deficit balloon to 12 when his team committed five consecutive turnovers in the final three minutes of the second quarter, while the Redwings scored off four of those miscues.

And he didn’t believe the Blue Devils would miss three consecutive 3-point attempts at the start of the fourth quarter, leaving them with a 13-point deficit with 2:29 to play that proved too great to overcome no matter how furious and frantic the rally became.

Quincy whittled the deficit to three with 31.6 seconds remaining, but Benet’s Jayden Wright made four consecutive free throws and Blake Fagbemi made 1 of 2 from the line to put the game away and send the Redwings to the Class 4A final four for the second time in the last three seasons.

Benet (31-5) will face Evanston (30-5) at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus. The Redwings finished as the state runner-up two years ago, losing to Moline.

“We had to play behind the entire game, which is something we haven’t had to do a whole lot of the entire year,” said Douglas, whose team finishes with a 31-4 record after making its second super-sectional appearance in the past four seasons.

“The one thing you can’t question is this group’s toughness, fighting and clawing to get back into it. Giving every ounce of effort is what they did to try to fight their way back into it.”

The Blue Devils trailed 45-32 with 2:29 to go before Bradley Longcor III and Dom Clay hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Longcor scored on a reverse to make it 46-40 with 1:33 to go. Wright, who went 14 of 15 from the line overall, made the first free throw with 1:33 to go but was whistled for a lane violation to negate the second make.

That opened a door for Quincy, but Longcor missed a 3-point attempt and Keshaun Thomas missed the putback. Daniel Pauliukonis’ two free throws pushed the lead back to nine points and gave the Redwings some cushion.

Benet made 17 of 22 free throws in the final four minutes of regulation and 22 of 27 overall. Wright finished with 21 points, while Pauliukonis had 17 points and Fagbemi added 14.

“The big thing was we had one turnover in the last three minutes, and we made enough free throws to finish it off,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said.

The Blue Devils made 6 of 9 field goals attempts and three straight free throws in the final 2:16, but the deficit was too much.

“You could tell everyone gave it their all,” said Longcor, who finished with 17 points, three assists and three steals. “That’s all you could ask for. We did a lot together.”

The Blue Devils just couldn’t overcome their own struggles. They finished shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range and were outrebounded 27-19. Thomas finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

“We didn’t execute well offensively,” Douglas said. “Some of those shots we took were tough shots, and some of those shots were ones they forced us to take. We just didn’t execute good enough to get the shots we wanted or needed.”

It meant those Champaign dreams are yet to be realized.

“I’m disappointed with the fact we lost,” Longcor said. “But it’s sad that it’s over.”