Blue Devils close regular season, pull away in second half to avoid upset at Galesburg

GALESBURG, Ill. — The Quincy High School boys basketball team’s fourth straight victory was accompanied by an emphatic stamp midway through the second half.

The Blue Devils strung together 12 straight points at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to pull away from upset-minded Galesburg and register a 66-55 Western Big Six victory inside John Thiel Gymnasium.

The victory ended Quincy’s regular season at 24-4, including a 12-2 runner-up conference finish. Galesburg closed at 9-22 and 4-10.

Quincy has rolled to 52 victories during the past two seasons and won 25 of 28 conference games.

The Blue Devils, who defeated Galesburg 76-31 earlier in the season, were clinging to a 44-43 lead late in the third quarter before that 12-0 run cemented their fourth straight victory over the Silver Streaks.

Ralph Wires (14), Camden Brown (12) and Keshaun Thomas (10) all scored in double figures for Quincy. Tyler Sprick (9), Bradley Longcor III (8), Sam Mulherin (7) and Dom Clay (6) were close behind.

Quincy had stormed to a 23-9 lead by early in the second period, thanks in part to an aggressive defense that forced 10 first-quarter turnovers. Brown (7) and Thomas (6) also helped trigger the fast start by combining for 13 points over the first eight minutes.

Then things changed.

“Galesburg smacked us in the mouth in the second quarter and got some momentum going,” said QHS coach Andy Douglas, who is 12-6 against Galesburg as the Blue Devils’ coach. “Give them credit. They made some plays, and we were missing some good looks.”

It took the better part of two quarters for QHS to reverse that momentum.

Major contributors in the second half for the Blue Devils were Wires (7), Sprick (6) and Clay (6), who combined for 20 of Quincy’s 32 points over the final 16 minutes. Sprick and Clay each buried a pair of 3-pointers in the second half.

“We had great balance on offense, and Longcor did a great job of distributing the ball,” Douglas said. “Defensively, we did a good job of anticipating passes. Sprick especially had a good night.”

Douglas believes the No. 10-ranked Blue Devils may have learned a lesson heading into next week’s start of the postseason when QHS will be matched against another team that is struggling record-wise. Quincy, which will be the host of a Class 4A regional at Blue Devil Gym, faces Alton (6-23) at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Every team is going to give us its best shot,” he said. “We were lucky to come out on top tonight, but I think we’re in a good spot right now. And we have a week to get into a great spot.”