Without its head coach, Collinsville defeats East St. Louis to claim SWC title
Playing the defending Class 3A state champion East St. Louis Flyers without their head coach, the Collinsville Kahoks simply refused to lose Friday at East St. Louis High School.
Seniors Ray’Sean Taylor and Keydrian Jones combined for 45 points as Collinsville clinched its first outright Southwestern Conference title since 1996 with a 56-52 win.
Ranked sixth in the final Associated Press Class 4A state poll, Collinsville finishes 10-2 in the SWC, one game ahead of O’Fallon (9-3).
With head coach Darin Lee at home with the flu, Collinsville (28-3) held a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter then held its breath when a potential game-tying 3-point shot by the Flyers’ Jonah Prunty with seven seconds left bounced out.
Senior guard Cawhan Smith iced the win with a free throw with 4.4 seconds remaining, giving Collinsville sole possession of the league title for the first time in 24 years.
“This means a lot. It (the SWC title) was one of our goals coming into the season and we didn’t want to have to share it,” Taylor said. “Coach (Lee) wasn’t able to be here tonight but he was with us.”
With Lee out, Kahoks assistant Eric Anderson ran the team Friday and he watched as Jones, a 6-6 senior, played one of his finest games. Going up against a big Flyers front line which included 6-7 Armond Williams and 6-8 Patrick Readye, Jones got off to a quick start by making his first four shots and scoring eight of his 21 points in the first period.
Taylor then found the range in the second quarter. The Kahoks all-time leading scorer hit a pair of 3-point shots as the lead grew to 27-15 at halftime while East St. Louis managed just three field goals.
Anderson said the game plan was as usual: Get the ball inside early to Jones.
“That’s what we want to do every game. Even if Keydrian (Jones) doesn’t score we want him to get touches,” Anderson said. “He really played well for us.
“Darin wasn’t here, but the kids stepped up. I know that before the season this (Southwestern) Conference title was one of the goals we talked about. We didn’t want to have to share it.”
Despite being in foul trouble with Jones picking up his third early in the third quarter, Collinsville’s lead grew to 41-24 with 2:50 left in the period on baskets by Jones and Taylor.
Flyers rally, but Kahoks stand fend them off
But when Jones picked up foul No. 4 nine seconds later, the Flyers responded. East St. Louis (18-11, 6-6), getting five points each from Jonah Prunty and Jashawn Anderson, scored the final 10 points of the period to close to within 41-34.
And East St. Louis wasn’t through, as a pair of 3-point shots got the Flyers within 43-42.
“They (East St. Louis) are a good basketball team and we knew they would make a run at us,” Anderson said “We were in foul trouble and they were hurting us with their size.
“It was a game of runs and we were able to respond with one.”
Leading 43-42, Collinsville scored the next seven points to expand its cushion to 50-42. Jones fouled out with 3:32 remaining but with Smith making four fourth quarter free throws, Collinsville was able to hold off one last Flyers push.
Taylor led Collinsville with 24 points, while Anderson led East St. Louis with 17.
Next up for Collinsville, East St. Louis
The top-seeded Kahoks face No. 8 Granite City at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Belleville East Regional. The second-seeded Flyers, meanwhile, open action at the Triad Regional at 7 p.m. Tuesday against either No. 8 seed Cahokia or No. 9 seed Highland.
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 12:44 AM.
