Centralia shutters QHS offense in second half, hands Blue Devils first loss of season

CENTRALIA, Ill. — Reid O’Brien had visited Centralia’s Arthur Trout Arena before, so the Quincy High School junior guard quickly glanced toward his teammates when they first entered the venerable facility on Saturday afternoon to witness their initial reaction.

“Everyone was looking around everywhere,” O’Brien said. “They were saying how nice it was and how big it was. I definitely think that’s how teams feel when they visit our gym.”

The banners. The tradition. The fans. All that is why Quincy is considered a “Winner’s Wonderland” for its guests.

“Certainly,” Centralia coach Lee Bennett offered, “this is more of a wonderland for us than Blue Devil Gymnasium.”

Like its counterpart, Centralia proved to be an inhospitable host.

Playing off the energy from a passionate crowd, the Orphans turned up the pressure in the second half. Quincy simply could not match the intensity in its 51-42 loss, snapping a season-opening four-game winning streak.

“They made some adjustments,” Quincy coach Andy Douglas said. “Our energy was at an all-time high in the first half, and they brought their level of intensity up. It showed on the defensive end, which turned into a lot of offense for them as well. We just didn’t match that energy in the second half.”

Centralia, ranked 10th in Class 3A, exploited that.

Trailing 26-16 at intermission, the Orphans (6-0) opened the second half on an 11-2 run that featured points on four of their first five possessions. The streak eventually ballooned to 19-6 at the end of the quarter, giving them a 35-32 advantage.

Quincy finished the frame with four turnovers — one more than its first-half total — and went the last 3 minutes, 47 seconds with two points.

“When we got punched in the mouth early in the second half, we kind of put our heads down and let it happen,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t really show much fight, much hustle at all. It’s really disappointing.”

What halftime adjustments did Centralia make?

“I told them to make shots,” said Bennett, a 1988 Pittsfield graduate and the son of legendary Saukees coach Dave Bennett. “I told them that they hadn’t outplayed us per se — they just hit shots. We just had to make sure, and we did.”

Two proved to be daggers.

Junior forward Koby Wilmoth broke a 37-all tie with 4:14 left in the game after burying a 3-pointer from the left corner. Three possessions later, with the Orphans’ holding a 42-39 lead, Wilmoth splashed a contested trey from the same spot with 1:33 left.

The 3-pointer ended a possession where Centralia took 41 seconds off the clock.

“The first shot, he was wide open. I don’t know how we could let that happen,” O’Brien said. “The second one … we’ll let him have that one because it was a contested shot deep in the corner. He just made them. It happens.”

On the other end, Quincy could not consistently hit shots. The Blue Devils, who received 11 points from senior guard Jeremiah Talton and freshman guard Bradley Longcor III, shot 28 percent (7 of 25) from the field in the second half.

With the offense struggling, the defense could not get stops. Centralia scored on 17 of its 27 second-half possessions, including its last seven.

“I know we’re better than that,” said Douglas, whose team travels to Rock Island Alleman on Tuesday for a Western Big 6 Conference contest.

“Therein lies the disappointment (because we) know we’re capable of doing better. I’m not saying our kids didn’t fight — I just don’t think we were the smartest in the second half. They took advantage of that on both sides of the ball.”

The win was No. 2,302 in the history of Centralia, the nation’s all-time winningest high-school program. Quincy ranks fourth.

As he was exiting the gym, Douglas caught a glance at a digital all-time win counter in the lobby that was immediately updated after the game. Like Blue Devil Gym, the Orphans highlight their history where guests can easily see it.

“There’s a lot of pride within (that) program,” Douglas said after the Blue Devils’ first non-holiday tournament trip to Centralia since the 1971-72 season. “I think we have a little more, but that’s me being biased.”