Talton finds rhythm, Blue Devils avenge loss at Roy S. Anderson Gym by barraging Railsplitters

LINCOLN, Ill. — Jeremiah Talton could tell during pregame warmups Saturday night the right ankle he had tweaked 24 hours prior wasn’t going to be an issue.

“It’s actually feeling pretty good,” the Quincy High School senior swingman said. “As soon as I got out there, I wasn’t feeling anything.”

He also knew he had found his rhythm.

“I prayed before the game and asked God just to help us play our best basketball,” Talton said. “Also, I think it’s the extra work I put in during the week that prepares me and gives me that feeling. I also give credit to my teammates for finding me when I was open.”

When they did, Talton made Lincoln pay.

In a rematch of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic quarterfinal, the Blue Devils led from start to finish, burying 12 3-pointers total — eight from Talton — and gunning down the Railsplitters 45-25 at Roy S. Anderson Gym.

The Blue Devils (16-3) won the initial meeting 33-30, but this one meant more because it took place in the same gym they were embarrassed in two years ago. The Railsplitters beat the Blue Devils 59-28 on Feb. 8, 2020.

“It was more personal for everybody on the team from what happened two years ago,” Talton said. “That left a bad taste in my mouth especially. We wanted to come out and be the aggressor.”

It started with a 3-point barrage. On the game’s opening possession, Talton caught the ball in the high post, turned to his left and kicked a pass to Terron Cartmill in the corner for a 3-pointer. Talton took his turn two possessions later, turning an offensive rebound into a 3-pointer from the right wing.

He made two more 3-pointers as the Blue Devils surged to a 12-4 lead in the first six minutes and took control of the tempo and style of the game.

“I can see that we’re growing defensively, and tonight it was just suffocating,” Douglas said. “We were all over the place. They didn’t have too many open looks.”

Conversely, Talton found plenty.

He made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, bookending the frame with a 3-pointer from the left wing on the first possession and a trey from the right wing at the buzzer. He sank two more in the fourth quarter, going 8 of 10 from 3-point range.

He tied Jaeden Smith for the second most single-game 3-pointers in program history. Smith made eight against Chicago Dunbar during the QHS Thanksgiving Tournament in 2018. Jacob Jobe owns the single-game record with 10 3-pointers made against Lincoln during the 2015 Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic.

“One of the things we’ve gotten these guys to understand is you have to be the guy who makes the next play,” Douglas said. “It’s been everybody, including Jeremiah. You have to have other people there to find you and be strong enough with the ball to get it to you.

“We had a lot of guys making the unselfish play. When he’s starting to knock them down, you have to feed the hot hand, and he was hot all night.”

Lincoln (13-3) had no answer, scoring just 14 points through three quarters.

Talton finished with 26 points, and although no other QHS player scored in double figures, there were key contributions. Reid O’Brien knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, and Keshaun Thomas went 4 of 5 from the free-throw line and helped keep Lincoln off the offensive glass.

It resulted in the Blue Devils’ fourth road victory in four road games since the calendar turned. Overall, they are 6-1 on the road this season.

“It’s a constant grind with our schedule,” Douglas said. “While we have some immature times, you have to be a mature group to win on the road. They have proven that so far this year.”

Talton sees it.

“I think it shows our maturity and growth as a team,” he said. “Everybody on the team’s focus has been good, and we all want to get better.”