Devilishly good: Talton outscores, outshoots Geneseo in first half as QHS inches closer to WB6 crown

GENESEO, Ill. — The Quincy High School boys basketball team dropped its first Western Big 6 Conference game last Friday night, but the Blue Devils made sure to put Tuesday’s league contest out of reach by halftime.

Geneseo lost control early and things quickly got out of hand as Quincy cruised to a 71-32 victory. The victory kept the Blue Devils (21-5, 11-1 WB6) in first place in the WB6, one game ahead of Rock Island and Moline with Rock Island visiting Blue Devil Gym on Friday night.

Quincy’s Jeremiah Talton finished with a team-high 21 points and was 8 of 11 from the field. Talton made more shots (8) than Geneseo did as a team (7) in the first half.

“We have a group that is very unselfish, but obviously Jeremiah gets a lot of attention, and for good reason,” Quincy coach Andy Douglas said. “Our guys aren’t afraid or upset when they are passing it to him when he is hot — and he definitely was. That first shot put him in the top 10 in points scored for our program so that was a special thing for a special player.”

Geneseo (8-17, 2-10 WB6) jumped out to a 4-0 lead and forced Quincy to take long-range contested shots on its first four attempts — all misses — but things quickly turned in a hurry with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Talton and Bradley Longcor III sparked a 20-4 run to end the quarter. The Maple Leafs turned it over six times in the final five minutes. Talton started 5 of 5 from the field and had 14 points before his first miss in the second quarter. Longcor had seven points by the end of the first quarter as the duo put Quincy ahead 20-8.

“I felt like we were playing with energy and then (Quincy) went on a little run and then it looked like the wind went out of our guys’ sails,” Geneseo coach Brad Storm said. “I don’t really have an explanation for it, but it’s disappointing. 

“I think shots started not falling, and it just allowed them to get on a roll. It was disappointing. I don’t think we competed like we should have. The overall effort was disappointing. We haven’t given effort like that in a while.”

The second quarter was where the game was ultimately decided. Talton continued to have the hot hand, scoring all 21 by half, and Geneseo struggled to put together competent offensive possessions.

The Blue Devils forced 13 turnovers by half and held Geneseo to 7-of-20 shooting from the floor.

“We knew how (Talton) was going to get some of those looks and he still got them,” Storm said. “That was the disappointing part. We didn’t execute our defensive game plan. We got held up on screens and weren’t focused mentally. I didn’t feel like anyone was even making the effort to get us out of it. 

“It was one of those nights where we didn’t come to compete and (Quincy) did. I think after they got beat last week (at Moline) they had something to prove. That was the recipe for a 40-point loss.”

By halftime, Quincy held a 43-15 lead. Geneseo’s Bristol Lewis was the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer with five points. He ended the game with a team-high 10 points.

The Blue Devils continued to pour it on in the third quarter, extending the lead to 54-17 by the mask timeout before emptying the bench with reserve players. The score was 60-21 after three quarters of play.

A running clock greeted the fourth quarter. Quincy forced 22 turnovers and its 32 points allowed were the Blue Devils’ second least amount against a WB6 opponent this season (Alleman scored 30). The Maple Leafs ended the night 14 of 43 from the field.

“Defense is where it starts for us,” Douglas said. “Lewis is a heck of a player and you have to know where he is at all times, but I thought our guys did a good job of focusing in. They didn’t take plays off tonight.”