Raiders follow forgettable first half with fabulous second half, rout Stanford Olympia in consolation bracket

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Roller coasters certainly are fun if you ride them during a trip to Six Flags or Disney World, but they’re a little rough if they are used to describe a basketball season.

The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team followed a sloppy first half with a snappy second half in Thursday afternoon’s 60-28 victory over Stanford Olympia during the consolation round quarterfinals of the State Farm Holiday Classic at the Shirk Center on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus.

“We’re such a roller coaster right now,” Raiders coach Kevin Meyer said. “I’m still trying to find the true identity of this group, but that third and fourth quarter, I think that’s who we are. That’s who I want us to be — a tough-nosed team that defends, that can shoot it a little bit and recognizes mismatches.”

The first half was forgettable for both teams.

With 3:23 remaining in the second quarter, QND and Stanford Olympia had combined to shoot 11 for 39 from the field while committing 18 turnovers. The Raiders outscored the Spartans 9-2 from that point to take a 26-14 halftime lead.

The Raiders (7-5) then made their first six shots of the third quarter to take command. Aiden Klauser had six points in that run, and Jace Allensworth added four to push the lead to 40-19.

After forcing 12 turnovers in the first half, Notre Dame created seven more Spartans turnovers in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Alex Dance from the top of the key completed a dominant period that ended with QND ahead 47-22.

“I really think it was our hustle and our press,” said Klauser, who led the Raiders with 12 points. “Most of those points just came off our defense. We didn’t really set up in the offense much. It was just get a steal, then go in transition.”

Stanford Olympia finished with 26 turnovers and shot 12 for 32 from the field. The Raiders had four players score between seven and 10 points, and they shot 13 for 20 from the field in the second half.

Asked about how the Raiders could avoid the roller coaster halves like they played Thursday, Klauser said, “We’ve just got to be mentally and physically locked in, whether it’s a game or practice. Especially in tournaments like this, where you have two games in one day or games on back-to-back days, you just kind of show up and be ready to play every day.”

The Raiders will play twice on Friday. Their first opponent will be Minonk Fieldcrest at 2 p.m. The Knights were ranked No. 5 in the first Class 2A state poll, but they lost their first-round game to Rock Falls 64-51 on Wednesday. They trailed at halftime Thursday but rebounded to defeat East Dubuque 57-40.

QND, which is in the small school consolation bracket for the first time, will play either Bloomington Central Catholic or Rockford Lutheran later in the day — either at 6:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket third-place game or at 8:30 p.m. for the consolation championship.

“We’re going to play two really, really good teams (Friday) in the consolation bracket and get a chance to get after it,” Meyer said. “That’s what you come here to do — play four really good teams, get out of here with some wins, build some camaraderie and enjoy some family time. Tonight makes that a little bit easier.”