Taylor, defense help host Kahoks break drought at Collinsville Prairie Farms Classic
After coming up short in the title game the past two years, Collinsville senior Ray’Sean Taylor and the Kahoks took control early and never looked back Monday against the Mundelein Mustangs at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic Tournament.
Taylor scored 11 of his 26 points in the first half and junior Nate Hall added 17 as Collinsville claimed its first title since 2004 with a 63-48 win before a near capacity crowd at Vergil Fletcher Gymnasium.
“What does it mean? Man, we lost in the title game the last two years. It had been a very long time since the Kahoks had won it. It means a lot. It means a whole lot,” Taylor said during the victory celebration. “It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my family and to the team.”
Chosen as the tournament MVP, Taylor helped set the tone early against a Mundelein which came into the title game undefeated and off impressive wins over O’Fallon and Lincoln. Taylor scored on a layup and added a 3-point jumper in the first period as the Kahoks (13-0) jumped out to a 9-3 lead.
Mundelein (13-1) would get no closer than five points the rest of the night.
“We were ready for this,” Taylor said. “We got out to a good start, got the crowd into the game early. The best part of it was that I looked up at the scoreboard and they (Mundelein) had just three points after one quarter. We got after it on the defensive end.”
The win is even more sweet for the Kahoks seniors who were on the losing end of championship games against Springfield Southeast the past two years.
In addition to their titles in 2004 and 2019, Colinsville also won the championship in 1990, 1995 and 2001. The Kahoks’ five championships are second only to Lincoln, which has six titles at Fletcher Gym.
“We were ready tonight. Last year losing when we had the lead late ... that was bad and then we lost the year before as well,” Collinsville coach Darin Lee said. “This is a big win for our basketball program.”
The loss spoiled the homecoming of Mundelein coach Matt Badgley, who was the Collinsville athletic director in 2004-05. The Mustangs trailed 16-3 early in the second quarter following a second 3-point basket by Hall. The 6-8 junior is a transfer from Alton Marquette.
But the Mustangs rallied behind a pair of 3-point jumpers by Jack Bikus to cut the lead to 20-15.
“The most difficult thing about playing Collinsville is their length,” Badgley said. “And the fact that Ray’Sean Taylor is such a good player.
“We felt that the Collinsville Tournament was the toughest in the state, but that’s what we wanted. Beating O’Fallon and Lincoln on Saturday were signature wins for us. We came down here to get challenged and get some exposure for our team. I think we did that.”
After seeing their lead cut to 20-15, the Kahoks got baskets from Hall and Lorent Dzeladini late and took a 27-19 margin at halftime.
Taylor played the final 10 minutes of the first half with two fouls, both charging calls. He picked up two more offensive fouls late in the fourth quarter but, in addition to scoring 26 points, the 6-1 senior added six rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
A basket by Keydrian Jones, followed by a short jumper by Dzeladini and run out when Taylor fired a length of the court pass to Cawhan Smith for a layup — all in the first two minutes of the second half — extended the Kahoks lead to 38-22.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Smith responded when asked about the pass from Taylor. “This is great feeling. After the last two years, it means a great deal.”
Smith and Jones were also chosen to the first team all-tournament tea.m.
In other games Monday at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic.
Lincoln 67, Springfield Southeast 40
The Railers (12-1) were a blistering 17 of 23 from the floor in the first half, building a 47-18 halftime lead, as they coasted to a 67-40 win over Springfield Southeast in the third place game.
Kaden Froebe scored 25 points for Lincoln while Will Ewald added 18. James Dent (15 points) led Springfield Southeast.
Quincy 56, Althoff 48
The Blue Devils (10-3) took the lead for good in the second quarter and went on for a win over the Crusaders in the consolation final at Fletcher Gym.
Senior Lucas Reis scored 16 points and added six rebounds for Quincy while seniors Mack Harris and Daulton Burgner led Althoff (4-9) with 14 points each.
Belleville East 52, Madison 30
Braxton Stacker led a balanced Belleville East attack with 18 points and added 11 rebounds as the Lancers (8-5) wore down the Class 1A Trojans in the fifth place game.
Ethyn Brown added 11 points while Eric Wade chipped in with 10 points and 15 rebounds for East. Javonnie Moore paced Madison (9-5) with 14 points.
O’Fallon 55, Decatur Eisenhower 51
Three players broke into double figures for the Panthers, who broke a two-game skid with the victory in the seventh place game.
Shaun Riley II led O’Fallon (10-3) with 16 points while Dawson Algee and Caleb Burton added 11 points each. Brylan Phillips scored 21 points for Eisenhower (6-6).
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 11:26 PM.
