No. 1-ranked Quincy Blue Devils run to victory over Railers, 51-21

 

[January 20, 2025]  QUINCY – Following his team’s Friday night loss to Lanphier, Railer head coach Neil Alexander indicated he was well-aware his Railer squad had a tall task ahead the following night in facing the Quincy Blue Devils, currently the No. 1-ranked team in IHSA Class 4A.

“It will be a tough game,” Alexander said. “Quincy’s very good. They’re very skilled, they’re very well coached. They attack you.

“We’re going over and we’re going to have fun. It’s a fun place to play, and they’ll have a good crowd.”

The contest had the makings of a classic David vs. Goliath matchup, with the Railers playing hard with a short bench due to multiple lingering injuries and Quincy having only one loss on the season.

This would be the same Quincy team that won the 2024 Prairie Farms Holiday Classic in Collinsville, defeating their tournament opponents by an average of 19.3 points. The Blue Devils convincingly won the championship game by 21 points and had three players named to the all-tournament team, including the tourney’s most valuable player.

This would be the same Quincy squad that has won 21 straight home games dating back to last season.

As they have done all season, the Railers played hard from the opening tipoff through the final buzzer. Unfortunately, Quincy outmanned LCHS as the Blue Devils lived up to the hype. There was no upset in the cards for Lincoln as the Blue Devils beat Lincoln 51-21.

It was a game of streaks for Quincy, as they had four different stretches during which they scored eight or more unanswered points.

The Blue Devils got on the board first when Keshaun Thomas hit a putback after a weakside rebound, then Blake Horn banked in a three-pointer to give Lincoln a 3-2 lead. But the Blue Devils turned up the offense, with Bradley Longcor III hitting a trey and field goal, Kamren Wires sinking a field goal and Dom Clay capping the 9-0 run with a steal with a dunk to put Quincy up 11-3. Brady Miller hit an acrobatic layup for the last points of the quarter, and Quincy led 11-5.

Milton Whitfield opened the second quarter scoring with a field goal for Quincy before Brody Tungate connected on a long three-pointer for the Railers. Longcor slammed one home after going coast to coast following a steal, then Tungate was fouled while hitting a layup in traffic and completed the three-point play to make the score 15-11. The Blue Devils then held Lincoln scoreless the remainder of the period while tallying seven straight points to give Quincy a 22-11 halftime lead.

Quincy then opened the third quarter scoring with a bucket to complete another 9-0 run. Minutes later, the score stood 26-16 when the Blue Devils went on an 8-0 scoring binge to go up 34-16. In the final three minutes of the quarter, Blake Horn hit a free throw for Lincoln to break the Quincy scoring streak, and Gabe Smith hit another as QHS added nine more points to make the score 43-18 going into the final frame.

Quincy opened the final quarter by scoring eight unanswered points. Bryce Vlahovich hit a three-pointer for Lincoln’s only points of the final period, and Quincy won 51-21.

Tungate led Lincoln with 6 points. Brady Miller added 5, Horn scored 4 and Gabe Smith and Vlahovich added 3 points each.

For the Blue Devils, Longcor led all scorers with 23. Thomas chipped in with 10. Dom Clay and Milton Whitfield scored 6 points apiece and Jeriaius Rice Jr., Kamren Wires and Mark Louthan added 2 points each.

Quincy improved to 18-1 overall. Lincoln dropped to 10-8.

The Railers host three contests at home next week. Lincoln takes on Bloomington on Tuesday in a nonconference game starting at 7 PM. LCHS hosts U-High on Friday for a Central State 8 matchup with a 7 PM tipoff. The Railers conclude the week with a 6:30 PM nonconference game against Rock Island on Saturday.

[Loyd Kirby | WLCN 96.3]