Blue is the better Devil: Quincy’s defense turns tide in victory over Chaminade in Norm Stewart Classic

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The environment, with the cavernous shooting backgrounds and the legendary coach for whom the Mizzou Arena court is named sitting nearby, did little to impact the Quincy High School boys basketball team.

Chaminade’s physicality took care of that on its own.

“The toughness level was at a level we hadn’t seen this year,” Quincy coach Andy Douglas said.

So the Blue Devils upped their toughness level to match it.

An up-and-down first half ended with Quincy’s Dom Clay converting a third-chance opportunity into a short jumper for a 31-30 edge, and the momentum stayed with the Blue Devils because of their refusal to back down in a 62-54 victory over the Red Devils in the final game of the Norm Stewart Classic.

“We saw some adversity,” Douglas said. “We faced a brick wall, and our guys did a really good job of handling that. It could have gone one of two ways, and they decided to get a little tougher in the second half and make things go our way.

“It still wasn’t perfect, but when you’re playing with a little bit of an edge and playing with confidence, good things happen.”

Good things keep happening for the Blue Devils, who improved to 7-0 after their first stringent test since the opening night of the 52nd QHS Thanksgiving Tournament.

Since repelling a pesky Chicago Phillips team on the way to the tournament title, Quincy had invoked a running clock in four of its last five games and enjoyed a 39.3-point average margin of victory in three consecutive Western Big 6 Conference games coming into Saturday night.

“We needed this one,” Douglas said. “We needed to get hit.”

The Blue Devils dodged any haymakers, although the physical play of the Red Devils’ backcourt provided plenty of body blows.

“We were bad defensively in the first half, and I thought that was a big reason why we were in the spot we were in,” Douglas said. “We allowed too many straight-line drives and we couldn’t keep guys in front. With the bigs that they have, if the guards get in the paint, it’s just lobs and finishes on the inside.

“Defensively, we were so much better in the second half. We played all zone. Our guys weren’t just sitting back in it. They were aggressive. We were able to put together stops and ended it the way we needed it to.”

Having the halftime momentum was huge.

Quincy trailed 30-24 with 5:18 remaining in the first half when the defense finally took control of the game. Chaminade (2-1) missed its final seven shots of the half and turned the ball over twice during the scoring drought.

The Red Devils had gone 11 of 21 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range prior to that.

Meanwhile, Tyler Sprick’s layin, Kamren Wires’ free throw and Bradley Longcor III’s step-through drive pulled the Blue Devils within 30-29 with 1:11 to go. After a defensive stop, Quincy held for the final shot, which turned into three attempts.

Longcor missed a 3-pointer from the right wing, but Sprick grabbed the offensive rebound as it bounced toward the right corner and lofted a 3-point attempt from there. It came off the rim, but Clay grabbed it along the baseline and dropped in a short jumper as the horn sounded for a 31-30 edge.

“To struggle the way we did in the first half and pull it out in the second half was great to see,” Douglas said.

Longcor led the Blue Devils with 22 points, going 8 of 11 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

“He was a calming force and made plays when we needed them,” Douglas said. “In the first half, we needed that to keep us afloat.”

Quincy’s Keshaun Thomas, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, proved himself going against Chaminade’s frontcourt of 6-foot-10 Ben Winker and 6-foot-7 Jahidi White Jr. as he finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

“He took over in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter,” Douglas said.

It helped reaffirm what Douglas has always believed — this team is capable of special things.

“To get to the level we need to, we’re going to have to go through teams like this,” Douglas said.