Collinsville sweeps the season series against East St. Louis with Friday night’s victory

Collinsville led from start to finish en route to its second win this season against Southwestern Conference rival East St. Louis on Friday night.

The Kahoks posted their fifth win in six games while easing to a 56-49 win over the Flyers while improving to 18-9 overall and 6-4 in Southwestern Conference action.

Jake Wilkinson led the way with 20 points, while Jamorie Wysinger notched 17 points and Nick Horras had 10 points.

“We’ve had some tough, close losses, but when we shoot well we’re dangerous,” coach Darin Lee said. “This is a big confidence booster. When you’ve got two guys (Wysinger and Wilkinson) who can shoot it like that ... it can really affect some teams.”

Wysinger, a guard, had a big second half to help Collinsville prevail. Moving forward, Wysinger has confidence in his squad as playoff time approaches.

“Sweeping them in the season means a lot. It shows that we can beat any team in the conference,” Wysinger said. “I felt like the zone really bothered them, we ran our offense and they overplayed.”

East St. Louis, meanwhile, dropped to 17-5 overall and 5-3 in league action.

“If we do what we’re supposed to do on the defensive side and on the offensive side, it’s a different story,” Flyers coach Mark Chambers said. “We’re going to regroup tomorrow and be ready to go (moving forward in the season).”

Guard D’Necco Rucker led East St. Louis with 16 points while Collinsville limited star forward Macaleab Rich to 9 points on 2-of-13 shooting.

The Kahoks started strong the first four minutes of the opening quarter with a 12-3 run led by hot 3-point shooting from Wilkinson and Wysinger. Collinsville ultimately led 20-5 heading into the second quarter.

The Kahoks held a double digit led for half of the second quarter as they continued to get easy buckets. East St. Louis used a 7-3 to get within single digits but still trailed 27-16 at halftime.

Cameron Boone and McKenly Falconer hit two shots to start the third quarter as the crowd erupted. Rucker cut the deficit to four points after a big dunk on the break, but Wysinger and Horras each drilled 3-pointers to extend the lead back to nine after three quarters.

During the fourth quarter, the Flyers got within two points but could not draw closer. Wilkinson, Wysinger and Horras all hit free throws in clutch-time to quiet the crowd and secure the victory.

Look ahead

Both teams resume play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, as Collinsville hosts O’Fallon and East St. Louis visits Belleville West.

This story was originally published February 4, 2023 at 12:50 AM.