Raiders escape with win streak intact despite strong push from Indians

PAYSON, Ill. — Granted, Quincy Notre Dame was able to stretch its boys basketball win streak to five on Wednesday night.

But it was not easy.

The Raiders withstood several Payson Seymour comebacks over the final three quarters before leaving with a 59-55 victory.

“Payson deserves a lot of credit,” QND coach Kevin Meyer said after the Raiders improved to 12-6. “They battled for 32 minutes.”

No argument there.

Payson (12-7) could have easily hoisted the white flag at the end of the first period. Notre Dame scored the final 13 points of the quarter to lead 18-5 and appeared headed for a relatively easy victory.

Not so fast.

Although Payson never pulled ahead or even over the final thee quarters, Notre Dame was never able to deliver a knockout punch. 

Count Raiders guard Jackson Stratton, who led Notre Dame with 17 points, as one of those who gained quite a bit of respect for Payson’s feistiness.

“(Payson) just kept battling back,” said Stratton, a 6-foot-1 junior. “Fortunately, we were able to finish strong.”

Notre Dame moved to a 55-45 advantage with a little more than three minutes remaining, then withstood one last burst from Payson, which scored 10 of the game’s final 14 points. Notre Dame sank four free throws in the final 49 seconds to help keep Payson at arm’s length.

If there was an overriding difference between the two teams, it may have been pace of play.

“QND did a great job of controlling the tempo,” said Payson coach Tyler Duschinsky, a 2001 QND graduate. “I was proud of the way our kids battled. We were not perfect, but our kids battled and played the entire game.”

Aidan Perry of Payson, a 5-9 senior perimeter player, led all scorers with 20 points. Perry swished four of Payson’s seven 3-point field goals.

Meyer felt the Raiders turned in another strong defensive effort, which has been one of QND’s strong points during the recent win streak.

“I felt we did a really, really good job of applying defensive pressure,” he said. “Our guys have really bought into their roles, some of which have changed as (the season as developed).”

During QND’s five-game win streak, the Raiders have allowed an average of 38.6 points per game while scoring 56.2. Payson is the only opponent in that stretch to score more than 42 points.

“Overall, on a 1-to-10 scale I’d say we’re at about a 7 right now,” Meyer said.

Stratton disagrees, albeit ever so slightly.

“I think we’re at about an 8 — but there’s always room for improvement,” Stratton said.

The only other QND player to reach double figures was Jake Hoyt with 12 points. Alex Connoyer contributed nine points (all in the second half) and led the Raiders with six rebounds.

Payson’s Trey Johnson (13) and Riker Triplett (11) were the other Indians in double figures. Wyatt Neisen led all rebounders with nine.