The Devils made him do it: Talton powers QHS to outright WB6 championship with determined effort

QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton decided to act a little devilish.

Envious of those who made winning a Western Big 6 Conference championship a point of pride within the Quincy High School boys basketball program and greedy enough to want to win the first WB6 crown of his career outright, Talton took that as inspiration and made life hellish Tuesday night for Galesburg.

Talton scored all of his game-high 29 points in the first three quarters and then dug in defensively down the stretch, helping cement a 65-57 victory at Blue Devil Gym that capped a 13-1 run through the WB6 and the Blue Devils’ first title since 2018.

The Blue Devils went 7-0 in league play at home and capped it the best way they could.

“There’s not a better way at all,” said Talton, the 6-foot-6 senior swingman. “Sitting at the top of the Western Big 6 and doing it at home in front of all these fans, there truly is no better way.”

It is Quincy’s 24th WB6 championship since the league first played a full basketball schedule in 1970-71. It ensures no class has graduated from QHS without winning at least one title since 2006.

“This conference is tough and winning this conference is really, really tough,” said QHS coach Andy Douglas, who has won four WB6 titles in his eight seasons at the helm. “To come out of this conference as the outright champs is pretty special.”

Going undefeated at home set it apart.

“You know you have to find ways to win games on the road, but you have to protect your house,” said Douglas, whose team is 24-5 heading into the postseason. “That’s another pretty neat thing about this group. They took a lot of pride in playing here. They know the history and the tradition, and they take a lot of pride in winning here.”

No amount of chatter the Silver Streaks threw the Blue Devils’ way in the buildup to the regular-season finale could knock them off course.

“There had been a lot of trash talking on Twitter with them saying they wanted us to lose,” Talton said. “So I wanted to come out as a team and prove we were the best team in the conference.”

In the second and third quarters, the Blue Devils not only proved that, but they showed they were the most poised, too.

Tied at 20 with six minutes remaining in the first half, Quincy limited Galesburg to two field goals and closed the half on a 12-4 run. The final three points of the spurt came with 49.8 seconds left when the Silver Streaks’ Alex Egipciaco fouled the Blue Devils’ Dominique Clay and then drew a technical foul for arguing the call.

It saddled the senior guard with four fouls and left him on the bench until the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Clay split his two free throws and Talton made both shots from the technical for the eight-point advantage.

“Coach reminded us to keep our composure,” QHS freshman forward KeShaun Thomas said. “That technical took something out of them. They were upset. We stayed calm and kept playing. That was extremely important for us.”

And just when Galesburg seemed to be turning that around, Talton denied it.

He scored Quincy’s final 13 points of the third quarter, turning a seven-point advantage into a 50-38 lead. He made two 3-pointers in that stretch and three overall, to go along with two dunks, two charges taken, two steals and a blocked shot.

It all happened in front of University of New Orleans assistant coach Kris Arkenberg, who offered Talton a scholarship to the NCAA Division I school after the game.

“He came out as a devil,” Douglas said of Talton. “Head down, ready to attack, nobody was going to stop him.”

Thomas took over in that regard in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-5 freshman forward scored Quincy’s first nine points to extend the lead to 59-45 as he finished with a career-high 16 points. 

The Blue Devils also made six consecutive free throws in the final minute to put the game away.

“We couldn’t let everybody down,” Talton said. “We had to get this done.”

Being greedy was worth it.

“Most definitely,” Talton said. “This is special.”