Another slow start spells doom for Blue Devils in third-place game at Collinsville

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — A trend developed in the three days the Quincy High School boys basketball team spent at the 37th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic that has Blue Devils coach Andy Douglas legitimately concerned.

His team keeps stumbling out of the blocks.

It happened again Wednesday night in the third-place game against Collinsville. The Blue Devils made just three field goals in the first quarter — only one in the first four and a half minutes — and ended up in a 10-point hole at halftime after scoring on just one of their final seven possessions of the first half.

The Kahoks never opened the door for the Blue Devils to rally, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter and racing to a 49-34 victory at Vergil Fletcher Gym.

“Some of the wins we’ve had this year, it’s been great having energy from the start and playing with a sense of urgency,” said Douglas, whose team went 2-2 in the tournament. “Tonight on both sides, we didn’t have that. It was a little more mental than it was physical, but it dragged us down on both offense and defense.

“We literally didn’t show up.”

That happened in all four games. Quincy (11-3) went a combined 11 of 39 from the field (28.2 percent) with 15 turnovers in the first quarter. Overall, the Blue Devils shot 39.3 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range, while averaging 12.7 turnovers.

“There’s no excuse for a lack of energy and a want to be in the game,” Douglas said.

This time, there was no shaking the doldrums.

After Quincy’s Keshaun Thomas scored on the opening possession of the second quarter, Collinsville went on a 9-0 run in which the Blue Devils gave up three offensive rebounds and three second-chance points. An 8-2 run by the Kahoks to close the half featured three baskets at the rim.

The 8-0 burst to start the second half in which Quincy missed two shots and two free throws buried the Blue Devils.

“It was ugly throughout,” Douglas said. “Defensively, our focus was clearly not there. Offensively, we were as stagnant as we’ve been at any time this year. There was just no movement and guys hand the ball sticking in their hands. There was nothing going offensively.”

Senior swingman Jeremiah Talton, playing on an injured ankle he hurt in Tuesday night’s game against Decatur MacArthur that limited him to what Douglas felt was about 30-percent effectiveness, finished with just five points. Bradley Longcor III led the Blue Devils with 15 points.

No one else scored more than four.

Devin Davis led the Kahoks with 14 points, and Jake Wilkinson added 11. Collinsville (9-5) shot 47.6 percent from the field and committed just nine turnovers.

After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season, the Blue Devils have a week to regroup before heading to Rock Island on January 7 to kickstart the second part of the Western Big 6 Conference schedule.

Quincy plays four of its first five games in the new year on the road.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how we react and how we bounce back,” Douglas said. “It’s an opportunity for us to learn and be better.”