Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Lewis Siegfried, Gavin Grothaus and the West Hancock boys basketball team went on the attack. Trailing Clopton (Mo.) 13-12 with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter Saturday in the KHQA/American Family Insurance Superfan Shootout, the Titans went on a 15-0 run while holding the Hawks without a field goal for…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — An 18-point halftime lead steadily dwindled to four points by the start of the fourth quarter. Yet, the Pittsfield girls basketball team never panicked. “I like how we never felt like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they’re coming back,’” senior forward Madison Frieden said. “I felt we were pretty level-headed.” A Frieden layin with four…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — It is not an exaggeration to say the Quincy High School boys basketball team played its worst 16 minutes of the season Friday night. It’s not hyperbole either to suggest it was the worst half of the Blue Devils’ careers. They freely admitted it was a struggle beyond measure. “Worst of all time,”…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Gary Phillips didn’t return to his roots often, but when he did, the Quincy High School Hall of Fame basketball player was treated with legendary status. Even if he shied away from it. A star for the Blue Devils in the 1950s who became an All-American at the University of Houston and played…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Missouri S&T’s game plan made sense. Over the previous eight games, the Quincy University women’s basketball team had shot 23.5 percent from 3-point range, including a 2-of-16 shooting against Upper Iowa and a 1-of-16 effort against William Jewell. So Thursday night at Pepsi Arena, the Miners packed the lane and challenged the Hawks…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The mental wear and tear of the Quincy University men’s basketball team’s five-game losing streak is as damaging as the physical toll. “Get out of our heads,” junior point guard Ethyn Brown said. “That’s what we have to do. We know what kind of team we are and what we can do.” There…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The sign always reads “Welcome home.” That’s how Jason Killday wants it. Since taking over as the Quincy University football coach 14 months ago. Killday wanted high school players throughout West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri to view Quincy as a destination and not a leave-it-in-your-rear-view kind of place. “The goal for me is…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The need for redemption lasted 370 days. The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players refused to let it linger a day longer. Desperate to makes amends for last year’s 23-point loss to Quincy High School at The Pit in which they scored just 24 points, the state-ranked Raiders rattled off 10 of the…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Jenna Durst didn’t feel the vibes. “I didn’t really think the first two I shot were very good,” the Quincy Notre Dame junior forward said of her 3-point attempts from the left wing and the top of the key in the first 35 seconds of Tuesday night’s game against the Quincy High School…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Crunching some numbers as the Quincy High School boys basketball players continue to reach milestones … • When Bradley Longcor III passed Jeff Klingler for third place on the program’s all-time scoring list, someone noticed and asked about Jack Kramer’s point total at No. 2. There was a discrepancy between Kramer’s Hall of…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The voice of the Chicago Cubs will be the voice of winter baseball in the Gem City. Cubs play-by-play broadcaster Pat Hughes will be the featured guest at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when the Quincy Baseball Club holds its Hot Stove Social at Dick Brothers Brewery at 929 York Street, Suite B, in Quincy.…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Every contender wants a shot at the title. So as both the reigning Western Big 6 Conference champion and the No. 2-ranked team in the state in Class 4A, the Quincy High School boys basketball squad has to be prepared to make sure a prize fight doesn’t turn into a back-alley brawl. “Everybody…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys basketball team improved to 10-0 in the Western Big 6 Conference with Friday night’s 84-45 victory over Sterling at Blue Devil Gym, giving the Blue Devils a two-game lead in the league standings. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman sat courtside and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A visual inspection of facilities and a phone call from a concerned neighbor put the process in motion that resulted in the lights coming down at both the Quincy High School baseball and softball fields. Neither facility will have lights for the spring season, news that became public last week as the light…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Titus Petty takes center stage — or in this case, center court — on Friday nights. The Quincy High School senior, who played defensive back on the record-setting football team, was selected to be this year’s Blue Devil mascot for the boys basketball team. That means he gets to wear the tights and…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Ryan Snow had been a man without minutes, but not without confidence. “I know when I get on the court I have to shoot with confidence or else there is no point in being out there,” he said. So when Snow was inserted into the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team’s lineup…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — When the John Wood Community College women’s basketball team hits the road Saturday to begin the second half of the Mid-West Athletic Conference schedule, the Trail Blazers see it as starting with a clean slate. “If we just execute well, it will give us a chance,” sophomore guard Blair Eftink said. It’s something…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Quincy High School administration obliged. So did Brad Underwood. That turned the Quincy Shootout into a memorable moment for a vast number of fans. At some point early Saturday afternoon, Quincy boys basketball coach Andy Douglas learned Underwood, the head coach of the University of Illinois men’s basketball program, and Illini assistant…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — This one stings, not because of the outcome but more so because of the preparation. When you’re the No. 1-ranked boys basketball team in the Illinois Class 4A state poll and you’re asked to defend your home court in a spotlight matchup in a ballyhooed event, you can’t coast through the week. It’s…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — About the only thing any of the Quincy High School girls basketball players would change about their return to the Quincy Shootout field is the ending. The Blue Devils would like a redo on the fourth quarter, too. The Blue Devils led Millard North, of Omaha, Neb., by 11 points at the start…
Read Full Article 
'We have to come with energy': Blue Devils prep for showdown with Knights by dispatching Maple Leafs
QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys basketball team wasn’t going to disrespect the opponent, the event or the sport with a nonchalant effort. There’s too much riding on this weekend to be anything less than focused. So despite knowing what the outcome of Friday night’s Western Big 6 Conference matchup with Geneseo could have…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Andy Douglas called timeout as soon as the ball tickled the twine. He wasn’t letting this moment pass by. With less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter of Friday night’s Western Big 6 Conference matchup with Geneseo, Quincy High School senior guard Bradley Longcor III buried a 3-pointer from the left…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Quincy High School softball coach Darrell Henze was suspended Friday without pay pending a termination to be decided by the Quincy School Board at its February meeting for violating the school’s code of conduct for coaches. Henze said he was informed of the decision by Lisa Otten, the director of personnel for the…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The first night of the seventh Quincy Shootout produced what basketball fans have come to expect from the marquee event of the winter — high-level teams competing with energy and enthusiasm, college-level talent playing above the rim and games decided in the waning seconds. More of the same is expected Saturday, when nine…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Quincy Shootout returns Friday with four games being played at both Blue Devil Gym and The Pit on Friday night and nine games taking place Saturday at Blue Devil Gym. Here’s an A-to-Z look at what to expect and what to be on the lookout for this weekend: A is for attendance,…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Taylor Reis isn’t shy about what gets him jazzed about being the next women’s soccer coach at Quincy University. “Hopefully winning,” Reis said. Winning matters to the QU alum. Always has, always will. In high school, Reis led Quincy Notre Dame in assists as a junior when the Raiders won the Class 1A…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The country’s second-best prep boys basketball team will be appearing in Blue Devil Gym this weekend. So will three other nationally ranked teams. The SC Next Top 25 — ESPN’s high school boys basketball weekly rankings — were released Tuesday with Brewster Academy, located in Wolfeboro, N.H., climbing from No. 6 to No.…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — With the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team playing high-caliber opponents seemingly every night during a three-week January stretch, Sierra Thomas knew what she’d be missing as she stepped away. “It’s so hard to not be there,” the sophomore guard said. Yet, her reason for taking a midseason hiatus came from an opportunity…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Bradley Longcor III doesn’t glance at the scoreboard often during a game other than to check the time remaining and occasionally see what the score might be. “Just the time really,” he said. “To be honest, that’s it.” And he ignores the individual numbers shared on the big scoreboard on the south wall…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The challengers continue to line up to take a crack at knocking the Quincy High School boys basketball team from its best-team-in-the-state perch. They keep failing for one very significant reason. The Blue Devils adjust, anchor down and get aggressive defensively. “I like our odds against anybody as long as we do what…
Read Full Article 