Quincy Shootout: QND rallies, then falls in overtime to Confluence Prep

QUINCY — It hurt like any loss. It hurt even more because it was an overtime loss.

Yet a grin kept crawling across the face of Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer afterward.

The Raiders fought back from a 10-point deficit to lead at halftime, then was a half-second away from winning in regulation play before losing 66-65 in overtime to Confluence Prep out of St. Louis during the Quincy Shootout on Friday night at the Pit.

“It’s weird to smile after a one-point loss in overtime, but I don’t know how many people outside of that group in our locker room thought that was going to be a one-point game in overtime,” Meyer said.

“We can’t be mad about that,” Raiders junior Braden Sheffield said. “We were with them pretty much the whole time after we figured it out.”

It took the Raiders (12-7) about a quarter and a half to figure it out.

They have allowed an average of 38.6 points per game during the five-game winning streak they posted before Friday night’s game, but Confluence Prep led 34-24 midway through the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Korey Lawrence.

However, the Raiders outscored the Titans 13-2 to close out the first half. Their final three baskets were 3-pointers, and Jake Hoyt found Jackson Stratton in the corner for the go-ahead 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer as QND went on top 37-36.

“Honestly, I think we were scared as a team (at the start of the game),” Sheffield said. “Our rebounding just killed us, and then we weren’t able to get back on their transition. But we figured it out.”

After Confluence Prep took the 34-24 lead, the QND defense improved greatly. The Titans finished regulation play by missing 20 of their final 29 shots and turned the ball over eight times.

QND’s lead grew to six in the third quarter, but the score was tied at 57 with 1:17 remaining to play after Bryant Moore’s hook shot. The Raiders missed two shots and turned the ball over, while the Titans missed a 3-pointer and a free throw. Finally, Hoyt was fouled with 13.8 seconds left, and he made two free throws to make the score 59-57.

Confluence Prep’s Trasean White, the leading scorer in the St. Louis metro area at 29.1 points per game, drove to the basket on the next possession but missed a shot. Sheffield grabbed the rebound, but it was poked away and rolled to midcourt. The Titans grabbed the loose ball and called a timeout with 3.8 seconds left.

The inbounds pass then went to White, who snaked his way through the QND defense and made a buzzer-beating layup to force overtime.

“That happens,” Sheffield said as he shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve just got to learn from it and fight back the next time.”

QND trailed 64-61 in overtime after a free throw by Lawrence with 2:29 to play. Sheffield’s layup got the Raiders within one, and after a Confluence Prep turnover, Stratton’s layup put the Raiders ahead with 51 seconds left.

However, the Titans took the lead back 22 seconds later when Jamod Robinson scored on an assist from White.

The Raiders waited for the last shot, and a backdoor pass from Alex Connoyer to Sheffield was bobbled along the baseline. Sheffield’s turnaround shot was blocked and went to the corner to Stratton, whose 3-point attempt at the buzzer didn’t go in.

“It’s totally my fault,” Sheffield said. “I grabbed (the pass) but I just couldn’t hold on to it.”

“There’s a lot of moving pieces in that play,” Meyer said. “Jake’s got to make sure that he doesn’t get pressured into a five-second call or turn it over. He’s got to deliver that pass. Alex has got to catch that pass, and then you get the back door. We executed it. Didn’t get the ball to fall. Great effort.”

Wallingford led the Raiders with 19 points, and Sheffield added 18. Lawrence had 16 for Confluence Prep. White was held to 15 points, 14 below his season average.

“Everyone was telling us we’re going to lose by 40, that we were going to get destroyed,” Sheffield said. “That just fueled us.”