Quarter century of memories: Summers puts hip pain aside to leave Alleman hurting

Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman began covering the Quincy High School boys basketball program during the 1998-99 season, and since he recently wrapped up his 25th season following the Blue Devils, he put together a list of his 25 most memorable games. Here is today’s installment:

February 11, 2000 — Quincy 87, Alleman 76

QUINCY — As the time ticked away toward the end of the halftime break, all eyes were focused on the doorway leading out of Don Morris Gym and to the visitor’s locker room where the Quincy High School boys basketball team had gone.

Would J.D. Summers walk back through that door?

Summers gingerly trudged from the QHS bench to the locker room with 30.7 seconds remaining in the first half of a game against Rock Island Alleman, having injured his hip. At the time, he had scored 21 points and was locked in an individual duel with the Pioneers’ Tyler Ryan.

The pain didn’t keep Summers down. He returned for the second half, scored 19 points and powered the Blue Devils to an 87-76 victory on Feb. 11, 2000.

“It’s simple,” Summers said. “I wanted to win.”

That desire coupled with the ability to get to the rim resulted in the single highest scoring effort of his career. Summers finished with 40 points, going 6 of 8 from the field before the injury and 6 of 10 from the field thereafter. Overall, he was 12 of 18 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line.

He also had six rebounds and five steals.

There were two ice bags as well that he alternated on the sore hip, which he injured with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half after colliding with an Alleman player and jamming his hip into the small of the back of the Pioneer.

Summers’ return and subsequent strong play helped negate a career effort from Ryan, the Alleman guard outscored Summers in the first half when he netted 22 points. Ryan finished with 39 points, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range, 12 of 17 from the field overall and 9 of 9 from the line.

The only thing he couldn’t do was outscore Summers, not on that night and not even when the fourth leading scorer in QHS history was hurting.

“Summers is a great, great high school basketball player,” former Alleman coach Larry Schulte told the Herald-Whig at the time. “He never forces anything and lets the game come to him. He’s a lawyer out there. When that team gets in trouble, they go right to him.”

Summers’ 40-point effort etched his name among the program’s scoring legends.

Keith Douglas holds the single-game scoring record with 48 points against Galesburg in 1978.

Jim Wisman scored 45 points against Chicago Farragut in 1974. Larry Moore scored 43 points against Proviso East in 1972, and Jack Kramer had 43 points against East St. Louis in 1985. Tony Ball scored 40 points against LaSalle-Peru in 1969, and Kramer had 40 points against Chicago Manley in 1985.