Raiders get stingy defensively, pick up pair of victories in BCC Shootout

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer said the Raiders “defended like crazy” during a sweep of two games Monday at the Bloomington Central Catholic Shootout.

It took a collective effort to be that good.

“The guys were connected,” Meyer said. “All five guys were moving as one.”

It made it difficult for either Farmington or Williamsville to score.

In the first game of the day against Farmington, QND went on a 27-0 run spanning the final minute or so of the first quarter and lasting until nine seconds remained in the second quarter. Although the Farmers tried to regain some offensive footing in the second half, the Raiders salted away a 57-43 victory.

A mere 90 minutes later, the Raiders returned with rhythm. They outscored Williamsville 16-7 in the first quarter, led by 14 points at halftime and rolled to a 55-39 victory to improve to 11-6 overall.

And they did so without one of their top defenders in junior guard Braden Sheffield, who sat out both games with an injury.

“Against Farmington, they ran a lot of ball-screen action, so we hedged really well,” said Meyer, whose team is now 11-6. “We sat and helped and made sure there were no easy backdoors. Against Williamsville, they have a big kid they like to play high-low with and throw a lot of lobs.

“I give (assistant coach Brady Frericks) a ton of credit on that one. He did a lot of the scout on that one for us. He was calling out plays and sets and cuts just as they were executing it. The guys were very, very coachable. A lot of energy.”

It showed once they dug in.

Trailing Farmington 18-14 late in the first quarter after giving up four 3-pointers in the first six minutes, the Raiders scored the final five points of the frame. They then scored the first 22 points of the second quarter, not allowing the Farmers to score until Virgil Haggard hit a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds left before halftime.

QND went to the locker room up 43-21.

“It just clicked,” Meyer said. “It was good defense, but we were also finding the right guys in rhythm. We did a good job of playing inside-out. We had good touches. We had guys shooting it well from the outside. We shared it. That was an impressive little run right there.”

Alex Connoyer led the Raiders with 16 points, while Jackson Stratton added 10.

Against Williamsville, the balance offensively was key. Jake Wallingford led QND with 13 points, while Blake Bozarth and Stratton each had 11. There others — Jake Hoyt, Charlie Lavery and Connoyer — had six points apiece.

“It was great to see a lot of guys smile,” Meyer said. “We had a lot of different guys get in the scoring column, and they really clicked as a team. That was fun to see.”