Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Keshaun Thomas despises the idea of coasting into halftime. “Everybody has to go out there and hustle their hardest, no matter how much we’re up,” said Thomas, the 6-foot-6 senior forward with a relentless motor who has helped the Quincy High School boys basketball rise to No. 1 in the Class 4A state…
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QUINCY — Calvin and Charlie Lavery find themselves among a small group of Quincy athletes who can call themselves collegiate national champions. The Quincy Notre Dame graduates helped the North Central College football team win the NCAA Division III national championship with last Sunday’s 41-25 victory over Mount Union in the Alonzo Stagg Bowl. It…
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QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Thursday, Jan. 9: Boys basketball Brown County 63, Rushville-Industry 58 Triopia 75, Pleasant Hill 71 Calhoun 59, Payson Seymour 42 Cairo 59, South Shelby 56 Highland Tournament Canton 66, Palmyra 52 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 73, Beardstown 11 Quincy High School 61, Moline 58 Pittsfield 69,…
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QUINCY — Andy Douglas’ one-word response to learning the Quincy High School boys basketball team is the No. 1-ranked squad in the Associated Press state poll for the first time in more than four decades told a small part of the story. His reaction to what it means moving forward illustrated the bigger part. The…
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QUINCY — Who is the No. 1 boys basketball team in the state of Illinois? A handful of candidates have tried to state their case. The Associated Press will release its first state polls of 2025 on Wednesday with Quincy High School potentially being the top-ranked team in Class 4A. There have already been two…
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HIGHLAND, Ill. — There was optimism amid disappointment Saturday night, which is a sign the Quincy High School boys basketball team will be better because of this. For starters, the Blue Devils were adamant a single loss will not derail them. “We are still hungry and not satisfied where we are right now,” senior guard…
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QUINCY — Cymirah Williams’ eyes got big and her smile widened. Asked how comfortable the Quincy University women’s basketball players were getting back on the Pepsi Arena floor for the first time in three weeks and just the second time in the last five weeks, the senior forward gushed over how seamless the transition felt.…
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QUINCY — The decision to postpone Sunday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup with Missouri-St. Louis due to impending weather was hardly ideal for the Quincy University men’s basketball team with no looming breaks in the schedule. Leaving the Hawks extra days to chew on Friday night’s 70-69 loss to Lincoln made it even worse. “It…
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QUINCY — Cleaning out the notebook as 2025 begins to take shape … QU’s Dollard receives All-American honor Quincy University running back Teon Dollard became the program’s third player in the past five years to be named a Don Hansen NCAA Division II honorable mention All-American. Dollard, a 6-foot, 205-pound graduate student who transferred to…
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QUINCY — Telling the story of area sports throughout 2024 meant appreciating those able to live out their dreams and embracing those forced to say goodbye to loved ones. Emotions of all kinds impacted how the games were played and the stories we wrote. Here are my favorite columns from 2024: Lepper was big man…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Mission accomplished. After losing back-to-back years in the championship game of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, the Quincy High School boys basketball players set a goal — actually they made it their mission — to win the title this season as a springboard into 2025. In fact, almost two months ago…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — The fifth Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic championship the Quincy High School boys basketball team won has some striking similarities to one of the previous four. In 1991, the Blue Devils waltzed to the title, beating four opponents by an average of 15.5 points and hammering Jacksonville 55-40 in the championship game.…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — When a timeout was called midway through the third quarter Saturday night, Kamren Wires gathered his Quincy High School boys basketball teammates and delivered an important message. Let it go, he told them. “He brought all the guys in and was like, ‘Hey, quit complaining about fouls. Quit whining to the officials.…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — By now, the Quincy High School boys basketball players have discovered how much of a challenge it is to make reality match increasingly high expectations. The Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic has taught them that. This is the fourth consecutive season the Blue Devils have reached Christmas either undefeated or with just…
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QUINCY — The debut episode Muddy Night Hoops, powered by Farm & Home Supply, is set for 8 p.m. Dec. 30 live from the Refreshment Services Pepsi studio in downtown Quincy.
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QUINCY — Following an emotionally charged weekend that saw the Quincy High School boys basketball team win a pair of games to improve to 9-0, the Blue Devils were given Sunday off to rest and recharge. Not that any of them planned to take advantage of it. “I know guys are already talking about being…
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QUINCY — Bradyn Little’s name is littered all over the record books. The Quincy High School senior quarterback established new single-season records in every passing category this fall, throwing for 4,130 yards with 263 completions and 47 touchdowns. Each one of those marks ranks among the top 10 single-season performances in Illinois High School Association…
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QUINCY — Keshaun Thomas discovered remaining stoic was no easy chore. Prior to the tip of Saturday night’s game against Quincy Notre Dame at Blue Devil Gym, the Quincy High School boys basketball coaching staff decided to honor the 6-foot-6 senior forward for becoming the school’s all-time leading rebounder, a mark established 44 seasons ago…
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QUINCY — Anyone who caught sight of Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas on the sideline after the Blue Devils forced a turnover on Quincy Notre Dame’s third possession of Saturday night’s game might have been a little perplexed. Douglas stomped his left foot, slammed his right fist into his left hand and…
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QUINCY — When Sage Stratton’s transition layup attempt rolled off the rim on the first possession of Saturday’s game, the best thing the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players could do was laugh it off. When Tristan Pieper’s shot from the block on the next possession missed the mark, there was a collective “Oh, no,…
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QUINCY — No exaggeration of the number of field goal attempts the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team missed within 6 feet of the basket was going to be too high. “Way too many,” junior point guard Ari Buehler said. Raiders coach Eric Orne just shook his head. “They just didn’t fall,” he said. “I…
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QUINCY — Brad Dance is finding himself in the holiday spirit, and he wants the stockings of all of the Quincy High School girls basketball players to be filled with good vibes. “I told the girls we have to start finding the positives in things,” the Blue Devils coach said. Friday night, there was nothing…
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QUINCY — Coaches, teammates and opponents have used a variety of adjectives to describe Annie Eaton’s impact on the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team and the area volleyball scene the past four years. Strategic. Intelligent. Savvy. Composed. Savage. Dynamic. Lethal. Those are just a few. One sums up her career better than any other. Winner.…
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QUINCY — Brock Edris has his Christmas gift for the Monroe City boys basketball players neatly wrapped and ready to go. All that’s missing is a bow. A victory Friday night against Payson Seymour in the 17th Rumble on the River at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center would be the perfect accent. The…
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QUINCY — Physical defense wins games. “It does in our opinion,” Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long said. And you can’t ease into that. “It’s even more important to do it out of the gate and get them down early,” Panthers guard Karly Peters said. It’s precisely what the Panthers did Thursday in overwhelming previously…
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QUINCY — The roster inside the 17th Rumble on the River program may define each of the Monroe City girls basketball players by their position, but truth be told, the Panthers feel they are essentially positionless. “We are all alike,” junior guard Ava Potterfield said. That makes finding a mismatch awfully difficult. The Panthers used…
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QUINCY — The halftime disposition of Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne split the difference between Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk. Not too mild-mannered. Not too barbaric either. “A little bit of both,” junior forward Tristan Pieper said. “Kind of right in between.” The Raiders trailed Troy (Mo.) Buchanan 20-14 at the…
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QUINCY — Brown County girls basketball coach David Phelps routinely harps on the Hornets’ need to run the alleys, spread the floor and share the basketball while in transition. “Every darn day,” Phelps said. He isn’t kidding. “Every day,” sophomore guard Kenzie Kassing said. “Yeah, it’s every day.” The reason why is so the Hornets…
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QUINCY — Some opponents just won’t go away. The Quincy University men’s basketball team is learning how to make them. Sunday’s 82-70 victory over Saginaw Valley State in the final game of the Hansen-Spear Holiday Classic is a prime example. What seemed like a comfortable 18-point lead with eight minutes remaining in regulation dwindled to…
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QUINCY — Christmas is a little more enjoyable when you take a win streak home. The Quincy University men’s basketball players will do so after sweeping their two games in the Hansen-Spear Holiday Classic, wrapping up the event Sunday with an 82-70 victory over Saginaw Valley State at Pepsi Arena. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt…
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