Another brick in the Wall: Junior center’s defensive work is backbone of regional title for Raiders

From left, Brady Kindhart, Braden Sheffield, Charlie Lavery and Josh Bocke are all smiles as they reach out for the Class 2A regional plaque held by teammate Calvin Lavery after Quincy Notre Dame's 48-37 victory over Pleasant Plains on Friday night in Beardstown, Ill. | David Adam

BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Pleasant Plains’ Zach Powell dribbled across the lane midway through the third quarter and tossed up a right-handed hook shot that Quincy Notre Dame’s Jake Wallingford got a fingertip on. Powell grabbed the rebound, then went back up for a second shot — only for Wallingford to swat it into a group…

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Raiders punch Illini West in mouth in first quarter, cruise to easy victory; Pleasant Plains awaits in regional title game

Illini West's Cole Kirkham loses control of the ball as he tries to split Quincy Notre Dame defenders Jackson Stratton, left, and Alex Connoyer during Wednesday's Class 2A regional semifinal boys basketball game at Beardstown High School. | David Adam

BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The rules of high school basketball call for a game to be played for 32 minutes, but the Quincy Notre Dame basketball team needed less than five Wednesday night. The Raiders dominated their Class 2A regional semifinal matchup with Illini West, scoring the game’s first 12 points and leading 30-10 at halftime…

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Liberty tunes up for possible state tournament run with impressive Senior Night victory over QND

Logan Robbins soars in for a dunk for the first basket of the game in Liberty's 57-43 victory over Quincy Notre Dame on Friday night. Robbins had 15 points for the Eagles. | Photo courtesy of Russ Tate

QUINCY — Logan Robbins is growing a little weary of his dad’s stories. “I’ve heard them all,” the Liberty senior said with a roll of the eyes. His father, Don, was a starter on the 1990 Unity basketball team that won its first 30 games before losing to Pittsfield in the super-sectional.  “The stories are…

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SuperFan Shootout: After three quarters of ‘horrible,’ ‘ugly’ basketball, Raiders’ rally falls one point short

Quincy Notre Dame's Jake Hoyt defends Jacksonville Routt's Nolan Killion during Saturday night's game at the SuperFan Shootout at the Pit in Quincy. | David Adam

QUINCY — Jake Hoyt called it “horrible.” Kevin Meyer called it “ugly.” No matter how exciting the finish was in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game between the Quincy Notre Dame and Jacksonville Routt boys basketball teams during the SuperFan Shootout at the Pit, the Raiders couldn’t overcome three quarters of abysmal play in…

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Raiders tighten defensive clamps, record 10th straight victory over Pittsfield

Pittsfield's Nate Scranton, left, looks for help while being guarded by Quincy Notre Dame's Jackson Stratton, center, and Braden Sheffield during Friday night's basketball game at Voshall Gym in Pittsfield. | David Adam

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Offensively, work must still be be done. But the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team has been pretty stingy defensively of late. Pittsfield missed 23 of 35 shots from the field, and the Raiders forced 18 turnovers in a 43-31 victory on Friday night at Voshall Gym. QND has won 10 straight…

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After St. Joseph-Ogden star gets loose in third quarter, Raiders miss chance to complete comeback victory

Quincy Notre Dame's Jake Wallingford goes past St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Pence on his way for a layup during the first half of Tuesday's quarterfinal game at the Shirk Center in the small-school bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic. | David Adam

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — It might not look like it in the scorebook, but Quincy Notre Dame actually did a good job keeping St. Joseph-Ogden star Ty Pence in check. Well, except for the final three minutes of the third quarter. Pence, a 6-foot-6 junior, scored 11 of his 26 points during that time frame, turning…

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Raiders use press to overwhelm Rock Falls while finally cranking up offense in State Farm Holiday Classic opener

Quincy Notre Dame senior forward Calvin Lavery applies pressure to Rock Falls' Gavin Sands during Monday's opening-round game of the State Farm Holiday Classic at Normal West High School. | David Adam

NORMAL, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer gave his Raiders a shiny new toy under their Christmas tree last week. It looked Monday afternoon like they had a lot of fun playing with it for the first time. The press. The Raiders used their 1-2-2 three-quarter court trap and a swarming…

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QND fails to stand up to No. 4-ranked Sacred Heart-Griffin’s defensive pressure

Quincy Notre Dame's Jackson Stratton goes between Sacred Heart-Griffin's Zach Hawkinson, left, and Will Hamilton during Friday night's game at The Pit. | David Adam

QUINCY — Take a good look, Quincy Notre Dame fans. The level of play exhibited by the Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin boys basketball team on Friday is likely the standard any Class 2A team in western and central Illinois will need to meet if it hopes to make a deep postseason run. And not just this…

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Three for Three: Hoyt keeps attacking basket in overtime to give Raiders victory

Quincy Notre Dame's Jake Hoyt goes up for a shot in the fourth quarter while McCluer's Brandon Johnson tries to block it during Saturday night's game at the Pit. | David Adam

QUINCY — Each time Jake Hoyt darted to the basket, he knew punishment was coming. “That was pretty much the thought process,” he said. “I knew I had to try to score.” Hoyt completed one old-fashioned three-point play in the fourth quarter, then made two more in overtime and finished with a career-high 24 points…

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Another first-quarter outburst helps QND girls win third straight game

Quincy Notre Dame's Abbey Schreacke goes through four Warrenton defenders on her way to the basket during Saturday night's game at the Pit. | David Adam

QUINCY — The second verse was the same as the first. Twenty-four hours after using a 17-point run to close the first quarter and take command in a victory over Belleville Althoff, the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team scored 20 consecutive points to close the first quarter on its way to a 51-25 victory…

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Raiders overwhelm Gateway STEM with 47-point run in season opener

Quincy Notre Dame's Jake Hoyt passes the ball with his right hand as he falls between Gateway STEM's Jaylen Ross, left, and Shakaid Zevelun during Friday night's game at the Pit. | David Adam

QUINCY — Forty-seven straight points. It doesn’t happen often in football, but we’ve seen teams score seven straight touchdowns before. When was the last time you saw it happen in basketball? After Quincy Notre Dame’s Jake Hoyt and Gateway STEM’s Jaylen Ross traded 3-point baskets in the opening minutes, the Raiders scored the next 45…

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Back from broken wrist, Eftink pours in 23 points for QND girls in victory

Blair Eftink goes up for two of her 23 points during Friday night's game at the Pit. Trailing the play are Belleville Althoff's Addison Leib, left, and Alaina Lester, and Quincy Notre Dame's Lia Quintero. | David Adam

QUINCY — Any worries about Blair Eftink’s broken wrist should be alleviated. The junior guard didn’t make any 3-pointers in the first half of Friday night’s game in the Gully Transportation Shootout at the Pit, but she made three in the second half and finished with 23 points in Quincy Notre Dame’s 72-31 victory over…

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Orne wants Schreacke to carry less of load, hopes Raiders will be more balanced

Quincy Notre Dame's Abbey Schreacke handles the ball during a game against Quincy High School last season. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — When Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne says he hopes junior Abbey Schreacke averages fewer points per game this season, he isn’t crazy. Schreacke, who averaged 25.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game during a shortened sophomore season, has been contacted by and/or offered a…

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