Blue Devils reach another milestone victory in style by dunking Maple Leafs

QUINCY — A milestone moment needed a signature start and an emphatic finish.

Camden Brown and Milton Whitfield delivered on both fronts.

Brown’s breakaway dunk 30 seconds into Friday night’s Western Big 6 Conference game got the Quincy High School boys basketball team rolling. Then Whitfield provided a steal and flush to punctuate a 66-28 victory over Geneseo at Blue Devil Gym that was No. 2,100 in program history.

“To be a part of the 2,000th and now a part of this, that’s a good thing,” said Quincy coach Andy Douglas, who has been a part of 233 QHS victories as a player and head coach. “To be a part of a lot of wins on both sides, to think back to my days of playing and then being able to run the program here now, it’s been nothing but a blessing.”

After a couple of Geneseo free throws at the 5:51 mark of the opening quarter, QHS rattled off 21 straight points to build a 27-2 lead. The Maple Leafs didn’t get their first field goal until the 1:18 mark as the Blue Devils lead grew to 34-6 entering the second quarter.

QHS (22-4, 11-2 WB6) forced 16 first-half turnovers while committing just one as the lead grew to 48–17 at the half. 

Camden Brown led the Blue Devils with 10 points. Bradley Longcor III, Dom Clay and Sam Mulherin each chipped in with eight points.

None of Quincy’s starters played in the second half as Douglas used his entire bench.

“It’s always good to get guys playing time,” Douglas said. “These are guys who put in a lot of work at practice that no one really sees. And the last thing you want to do is tell them not to play hard. Get out there and compete and they did.”

Senior forward Bryson Bowen, who was cut as a junior, is soaking in every opportunity to be on the Blue Devil Gym court.

“It’s been a ride,” Bowen said. “I’m not a player that plays that much but just to experience the atmosphere with the guys. And the crowd is amazing. Every part of Blue Devil basketball is in my heart.”

Bowen and the other two seniors — Reid O”Brien and Mulherin — will play their final regular-season home game Saturday night against Jacksonville.

Not normally an emotional guy, Bowen expects Senior Night be challenging.

“Could be a tearjerker, definitely,” Bowen said. “Ever since third grade, I came to the games and saw the players come out of the tunnel. The tradition of the Blue Devil. It’s always been a lifelong dream of mine personally.”