‘We played as one’: Blue Devils feed off each other to win fifth consecutive Thanksgiving title

Quincy High School senior guard Bradley Longcor III gets fouled on a drive to the basket during the second half of Saturday's 69-47 victory over Burbank St. Laurence in the championship game of the 53rd QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas burned a timeout only 2 minutes, 45 seconds into Saturday night’s championship game of the 53rd QHS Thanksgiving Tournament for two reasons. Stem the tide and send a message. Burbank St. Laurence scored the game’s first seven points and was emotionally gaining steam before the…

Read More

Blistering start, pedal-to-the-metal finish enable Blue Devils to earn season-opening victory

Quincy High School senior guard Bradley Longcor III throws down a dunk on the game's opening possession Thursday night against Chicago Lindblom in the 53rd QHS Thanksgiving Tournament in Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The beginning and ending of the script the Quincy High School boys basketball team wants to follow played out almost flawlessly Thursday night. It’s the middle part that needs a rewrite. A scintillating start in which Bradley Longcor III scored the game’s first seven points, bookending the flurry with dunks, allowed the Blue…

Read More

Countdown to tipoff: Experience will help Blue Devils meet heightened expectations

Senior guard Bradley Longcor III, a first-team all-state selection as a junior, is one of three returning starters for the Quincy High School boys basketball team with three years of a varsity experience to lean on. | Matt Schuckman photo

Coverage of the QHS boys basketball team is brought to you by: QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys basketball players don’t shy away from harboring state championship aspirations. “That’s my goal every time I play,” 6-foot-3 senior guard Bradley Longcor III said. Still, becoming preoccupied with that title pursuit is the last thing the…

Read More

California dreamin’: Player development key reason QHS’s Longcor commits to Santa Clara

Quincy High School senior guard Bradley Longcor III committed to Santa Clara last week and will head into his final season with the Blue Devils on the verge of becoming one of the top 10 scorers in program history. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The map shows Santa Clara, Calif., is nearly 2,000 miles away, but Bradley Longcor III doesn’t see it as being nearly that far. “We realized the plane flight is four hours,” the Quincy High School basketball standout said. “The other schools recruiting me are four hours away, too, except that’s a car ride…

Read More

Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Statistics, accolades and stellar play making Longcor one of QHS’s all-time greats

Quincy High School junior guard Bradley Longcor III is already the 12th leading scorer in Blue Devil history with 1,297 career points. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The disappointment on Bradley Longcor III’s face was present, but the determination trumped it all. When the Quincy High School boys basketball players took the court at 5:30 a.m. on the first day of practice, Longcor stayed on the sideline. An offseason knee injury left him working individually with a trainer instead of…

Read More

QHS’s Longcor receives IBCA first-team all-state plaudits, Thomas earns third-team honors

Quincy High School junior guard Bradley Longcor III was named a Class 4A first-team all-stater by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — During a season in which he became the 23rd player in the history of the Quincy High School boys basketball program to reach 1,000 career points, junior guard Bradley Longcor III showcased why a vast number of college coaches are interested in his services. He has poise, precision and presence. Longcor has a…

Read More

‘Phenomenal’ second-quarter blitz helps QHS rout Belleville West to reach sectional championship game

Bradley Longcor, left, receives an ovation from the Quincy High School fans while being congratulated by his teammates after being taken out of Tuesday night's Class 4A sectional semifinal game in the Panther Dome at O'Fallon Township High School. | David Adam photo

O’FALLON, Ill. — Bradley Longcor III believes he and his Quincy High School boys basketball teammates have more quarters in them like the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game. After Belleville West’s Jordan Lacey hit a 10-foot jump shot to tie the score at 16 on the first possession of the second quarter, the Blue…

Read More

With a wink and a smile: Longcor’s buzzer beater to end first half also shuts up teasing teammate

Quincy High School's Bradley Longcor III launches a 3-point shot over Belleville West's Daylen Byrd as the final second ticks off the clock in the second quarter of Tuesday night's Class 4A boys basketball sectional semifinal in the Panther Dome at O'Fallon Township High School. | David Adam photo

O’FALLON, Ill. — With four seconds left in the first half and his team leading 42-22, Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas took Bradley Longcor III off the floor to prevent him from picking up his second foul. However, after Belleville East had an over-and-back violation, leaving one second on the clock, Douglas…

Read More

Blue Devils’ Longcor is named WB6 MVP, Thomas joins him on all-conference first team

Quincy High School junior guard Bradley Longcor III was named the Western Big 6 Conference MVP by the league's coaches after leading the Blue Devils to the conference crown. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Bradley Longcor III’s performance in the final two games of the Western Big 6 Conference boys basketball title chase elevated Quincy High School to its 25th league crown and pushed the junior guard to the forefront as the league’s top player. Thursday, the WB6 coaches confirmed that. Longcor was named the conference MVP…

Read More

Defensive dominance in first quarter allows Blue Devils to keep pace with Rock Island in WB6

Quincy High School's Tyler Sprick defends United Township's Caeden Terrell during the first half of Friday night's boys basketball game at Blue Devil Gym in Quincy. | David Adam

QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys basketball team forced United Township to burn nearly a minute off the clock on its opening possession Friday night before finally yielding a pull-up jumper from the left baseline by Dominic Rhoden. It was a harbinger of things to come. Quincy’s suffocating defense forced six turnovers and seven…

Read More

Victory over defending state champs moves QHS boys into first-place tie in Western Big Six

Quincy High School's Camden Brown goes past Moline's Trey Taylor, left, and Vinablo Adjahoungbeta during Tuesday night's boys basketball game at Blue Devil Gym. | David Adam

QUINCY – A couple of explosive offensive spurts and a lockdown defense proved to be a winning formula. Three consecutive 3-pointers by Bradley Longcor III that created separation in the second quarter, and nine straight points in 92 seconds in the third period, were enough to carry the Quincy High School boys basketball team to…

Read More

Blue Devils create energy level necessary to maintain momentum against Silver Streaks

Quincy High School guard Ralph Wires runs the offense during Tuesday night's Western Big 6 Conference game against Galesburg at Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Challenge accepted and met. Coming off Saturday’s high-octane, high-profile victory over Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia in the marquee game of the Quincy Shootout, the Quincy High School boys basketball team was tasked with rekindling that energy Tuesday to face Galesburg, which it beat by 52 points in early December. “Our pregame speech tonight…

Read More

Chartering a new course: Victory over nationally respected Imhotep could vault QHS to No. 1 in state poll

Quincy High School guard Bradley Longcor III reacts to scoring while being fouled during the first half of Saturday night's game against Imhotep Charter in the Quincy Shootout in Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The loudest statement in front of the loudest crowd could have the loudest impact. The Quincy High School boys basketball team may find itself as the No. 1-ranked team in Illinois this coming week. Toppling a team with a nationally respected resume like Imhotep Charter Prep could do that. Playing with the most…

Read More

State-ranked Blue Devils use 3-point barrage and stingy defense to bury Railers

Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas talks to his team during a timeout during Saturday night's game against Lincoln at Roy S. Anderson Gym in Lincoln, Ill. | Submitted photo

LINCOLN, Ill. — Bradley Longcor III’s 3-pointer from the left wing on the opening possession at Saturday night’s game was a harbinger of things to come. Longcor hit three more treys in the first half and the Quincy High School boys basketball team buried seven 3-pointers in building a 18-point advantage by intermission and cruising…

Read More

Blue Devils offer each other assistance in rolling to opening-round victory at Collinsville

Quincy High School guard Bradley Longcor III drives to the baseline during Wednesday’s first-round game against Oakville (Mo.) in the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic at Vergil Fletcher Gym in Collinsville, Ill. | Photo courtesy Tim Vizer Photography

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — One of the unique aspects of holiday tournament play — at least at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic — is each coach is handed a sheet of halftime stats on the way to the locker room. When Quincy High School coach Andy Douglas perused how his team constructed its 30-point lead…

Read More

Longcor helps Blue Devils overcome ragged start to head into holidays with unblemished record

Quincy High School guard Bradley Longcor III, right, drives past a Springfield defender during Tuesday night's game at Willard Duey Gym in Springfield, Ill. | Samantha Carmean photo

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The fortunate thing about the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s schedule is all four of the Tuesday night games on tap the second half of the season will be played at Blue Devil Gym. The unfortunate thing is they’re still on Tuesday nights. For the second consecutive Tuesday, the Blue Devils…

Read More

Blue Devils to use time prior to holiday tournament wisely, emphasize consistency and energy

Quincy High School sophomore guard Bradley Longcor III starts the offense during Saturday night's game against Quincy Notre Dame at Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — It sounds relaxing when you say it out loud. The Quincy High School boys basketball team has 11 days until its next game. That offers the impression it will be a low-key holiday week leading up to Christmas and then a couple of get-back-into-the-groove days before the Blue Devils head off to play…

Read More

‘We have to do us’: Blue Devils overcome lackluster first half against Bulldogs with game-clinching run

Quincy High School guard Bradley Longcor III, right, starts the offense during the first half of Saturday's game against Batavia at Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The chatter, the comparisons and the hype the state-ranked Quincy High School boys basketball team continues creating could be a detriment if the Blue Devils allow those things to infiltrate the team-first mentality. “If we just do us, the best in us will come out,” sophomore guard Bradley Longcor III said. When the…

Read More

Power in the post: Blue Devils throw ball inside to establish presence, cruise to Thanksgiving tournament championship

Quincy High School sophomore forward Keshaun Thomas gains position on the block during Saturday night's game against Springfield Lanphier in the 51st QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. | Photo courtesy Mathew Kirby

QUINCY — Something the Quincy High School boys basketball coaching staff noticed watching game film revealed itself even further during Saturday morning’s shootaround. The Blue Devils’ primary post players — sophomore Keshaun Thomas and senior Sam Mulherin — weren’t controlling the block. “We watched them post straight up,” QHS coach Andy Douglas said. “They were…

Read More

Handling expectations: Blue Devils staying humble, focused as hype builds around them

Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas, center, shares a laugh with several of his players during a break in practice at Blue Devil Gym. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — As the Quincy High School boys basketball team trudged through another preseason practice, those responsible for the sound system in Blue Devil Gym tested the acoustics, the decibel levels and the clarity for pregame introductions. “They started playing everything and I got chills,” senior guard Reid O’Brien said. The Blue Devils also were…

Read More

Blue Devils’ Talton named Western Big 6 MVP, joined on all-conference first team by Longcor

Quincy High School's Jeremiah Talton was named the Western Big 6 Conference MVP, as voted on by the league's coaches. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton’s impact on the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s success went far beyond points scored and 3-pointers made. Every coach in the Western Big 6 Conference felt that. It made it easy for them to vote for Talton, the 6-foot-6 senior swingman, as the WB6 most valuable player, the first season…

Read More

‘The sky’s the limit’: Freshman class contributing to Blue Devils’ success faster than Douglas expected

Quincy High School’s Bradley Longcor III drives to the basket for a field goal during Saturday night’s game against Quincy Notre Dame at the Pit. Photo courtesy Mathew Kirby

QUINCY — It isn’t supposed to be this easy. Oh, sure, a handful of basketball players have done well during their freshman season at Quincy High School, but only six have scored more than 70 points as a freshman — Bruce Douglas, Jack Kramer, Dennis Douglas, Jeff Klingler, Parker Bland and Jeremiah Talton. But the…

Read More