‘Get it done and get it done quick’: First-quarter blitz carries Blue Devils to runaway victory over Raiders in crosstown showdown

QUINCY — The mindset was simple for the Quincy High School boys basketball team entering its annual crosstown showdown against Quincy Notre Dame.

“We wanted to stomp on their throats at the beginning,” senior Camden Brown said. “Get it done and get it done quick.”

The state-ranked Blue Devils did just that with deft precision.

With Brown scoring 10 of his game-high 18 points and its suffocating defensive pressure forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter, Quincy High bolted to a 25-9 lead and cruised to a 77-47 victory Saturday night at The Pit.

Six Blue Devils reached the scoring column in the opening period, a testament to their equal opportunity, up-tempo offense. They capitalized on turnovers, their quickness and lethal shooting from 3-point range to break a 5-5 tie by scoring 10 consecutive points in a 70-second stretch midway through the quarter to seize control.

At that point, four minutes into the game, Notre Dame had six turnovers and only three field goal attempts.

“We have five guys out there who can throw a big punch and we thought we did that early,” said guard Bradley Longcor, who finished with 15 points. “We were aggressive on offense, driving and kicking the ball out, and we definitely turned it up on the defensive end.”

QHS, ranked third in the Illinois Class 4A poll, sank four 3-pointers in the first period and matched its single-game high with 13 overall in running its record to 10-0 for the season and 8-1 in the series since it was renewed in 2015.

What made the Blue Devils so difficult to defend was that seven different players connected from 3-point range, with Longcor and Dom Clay netting three apiece.

“You’re playing in an atmosphere where the crowd on both sides is into it,” QHS coach Andy Douglas said. “As a player, as a shooter, these are the kind of atmospheres you want to be in, and we took advantage. It’s extremely difficult when you can’t key in on one specific guy (and) have to guard everybody.”

After the teams traded a series of 3-pointers to open the second quarter, a driving layup, a 3-pointer and a free throw from Alex Dance drew Notre Dame within 36-23. Two free throws by Jackson Connoyer then trimmed the deficit to 11 with 3:40 to go in the first half.

“We knew it was going to be a hard, physical game,” Dance said. “It took us a little bit to settle in. We just wanted to battle and keep battling the whole game, and whatever happened, happened.”

The Raiders, however, managed just two points the rest of the half. A traditional three-point play by Brown with time expiring off a lob in the lane on an inbound pass from under the basket pushed the lead back up to 48-27.

“They’re so long and athletic,” Notre Dame coach Kevin Meyer said of the Blue Devils. “They make it tough for you from an offensive standpoint. They’re sharks, and when there’s blood in the water, they go after you. They get a deflection, a turnover, a steal, and they’re off and running.

“And from a defensive standpoint, pick your poison. We make them drive and they just kept stepping back and shooting threes – and deep threes.”

After QHS stretched its lead to 56-30 early in the third quarter, back-to-back 3-pointers by Jace Allensworth capped an 8-0 run that pulled Notre Dame within 18, prompting Douglas to call a timeout.

“He told us to pick it up,” Brown said.

The Blue Devils responded by scoring 10 straight points in a little over two minutes, the last on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Clay. Another 3-pointer from deep above the top of the circle by Longcor with 7.6 seconds left made it 69-40.

After Kamren Wires opened the fourth period with a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line, a running clock was initiated, and both teams emptied their benches.

“I didn’t think we came out with the energy and intensity defensively that we needed (Friday) night (in a 50-34 victory over United Township),” Douglas said. “That was a big emphasis for our guys (against Notre Dame.) 

“Our guys were flying all over the place, and the good thing was it wasn’t just on ball pressure. Everybody was engaged off the ball. We made it difficult for passers to go around the horn. We weren’t perfect, but we were a heckuva lot better than we’ve been.”

Clay and Keshaun Thomas had nine points apiece for Quincy High as 10 players reached the scoring column. The Blue Devils travel to Springfield on Tuesday night before a short break for the holidays.

Allensworth paced Notre Dame with 15 points, and Dance and Noah Lunt finished with 11 apiece. The Raiders, now 5-4 after back-to-back weekend losses, travel to Payson Seymour on Thursday night.

“Thirteen threes, that’s hard to overcome,” Meyer said. “I thought our guys still battled, though. We were exposed on some things, but take away the score, I think there are also some things we can grow from to get better for the second half of the season.”