Raiders narrowly miss completing rally, but gain confidence from fighting back against Cyclones

QUINCY — The start to the fourth quarter nearly deflated the Quincy Notre Dame basketball team. The end of the fourth quarter nearly made the disappointment disappear.

“I thought that was a growing-up period,” Raiders coach Kevin Meyer said.

QND’s attempt to rally from a nine-point deficit fell short in its 53-51 loss to Sacred-Heart Griffin on Friday night in a raucous environment at The Pit.

“We were down but we battled back,” Raiders guard Alex Dance said. “We finally got our way back into it and had a shot to win it and (the last shot) just didn’t go.” 

QND (2-1) trailed 38-36 entering the fourth quarter when the Cyclones started the final frame on a 7-0 run to grab their biggest lead of the game at 45-36 with 6:41 remaining. The Raiders rallied to trim the deficit to 52-47 with 90 seconds left and then forced three consecutive turnovers. 

QND guard Conner Young stole a pass at halfcourt and made a layup to make it a three-point game with 1:23 left. Dance made two free throws to cut the deficit to 52-51 with 44 seconds to play. However, the Raiders failed to score another point as Dance couldn’t convert a contested layup and a turnover on QND’s final possession negated the comeback.

“The best thing we can do out of this is bring more effort and competitiveness and learn from this,” Meyer said. “It doesn’t mean anything if we don’t apply it (Saturday) night when we go to Macomb.”

QND forward Aidan Klauser led all scorers with 15 points and hopes the Raiders benefit from the early-season setback.

“I think there’s a lot of room to grow,” Klauser said. “But I also think we’re at a good spot right now and I’m excited for what’s upcoming.”

The youthful Cyclones, who played only one senior while rotating four juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen, won for the first time in four games after losses to Edwardsville, Springfield Southeast and Peoria Central at the Decatur Thanksgiving Tournament.

“Our team needed (a win),” said SHG coach Tim Allen, who spearheaded the Cyclones to a Class 3A state championship in 2022 and a super-sectional appearance last season. “We are probably one of the youngest teams in the state. To see them feel what victory feels like is big for us. If they taste it, they’ll continue to be able to do it.”

Playing in a postseason-type atmosphere and exiting with success are things Allen said can only help long term. 

“It’s an amazing environment,” Allen said. “I think it feels better when you come out on top.”

But he’s not exactly eager to come back to The Pit.

“We don’t have to come back here for two years,” Allen said with a smile. “But the great thing is when we come back here, we’ll have the same team.”

Freshman Myles Montgomery, who played a key role in the Cylcones’ win in the JV game, had a team-high 13 points in the varsity contest while senior Bryce Musgrave added 10.

QND made up for sub-par shooting from the field, which included going 1 of 7 from 3-point range, at the free-throw line. The Raiders were 18 of 24 (75 percent) from the charity stripe.

“I think my biggest challenge to (the players) is to go back and watch the things that we weren’t good at, find some of the things that we were really good at, and how do we balance those and grow? I think that’s going to be big,” Meyer said.

Other than SHG’s run to start the fourth quarter, the contest was close throughout. The Cyclones led by three points or less at the end of each quarter.    

Klauser was the only Raider in double figures. Sophomore Jace Allensworth finished with nine points while Dance wound up with seven and made all but one of his six free-throw attempts. 

“This group has a high ceiling,” Meyer said. “I’m really excited. I really love this team. This group is so competitive, and I think that our chemistry is really good. We just got to keep building.”