Wilkinson Leads Kahoks With 20 Points, Brown Adds 10, Collinsville Comes From Behind To Win At Granite City

GRANITE CITY - Jace Wilkinson led Collinsville with 20 points, including three clutch free throws in the final minute, and DeAndre Brown added 10 points as the Kahoks came from a 22-17 halftime deficit to defeat Granite City 44-36 in a boys basketball game Tuesday night at Granite City Memorial Gym.

The Kahoks improved to 4-4 under first-year head coach Hank Matthews, and he was very happy after the game about the come-from-behind effort of his team in a hard-fought game on both sides.

"I'm really proud of our group tonight," Matthews said. "Granite City's a tremendous team, they're well-coached, they play extremely hard, and to beat O'Fallon here in the last week, and we had a tough road loss to (O'Fallon), so they're playing extremely well.

"We made some adjustments at halftime. I thought our senior leadership was terrific tonight, and I thought the guys battled and competed. We've been trying to make a lot of different adjustments with this group, and credit to them, they're taking coaching. And they're starting to apply it. I'm just really proud of our guys and how they were connected and played together down the stretch.

Wilkinson has been the key player for Collinsville this season, and definitely showed why against the Warriors.

"Jace is the only person on our team that has a tremendous amount of varsity experience," Matthews said, "so we rely on him heavily with that leadership. He's been battling a little injury, so I know he was super happy to see that ball go through the hoop a couple of times, but he knows that his super power is more than making shots for our team.

"It's keeping us connected in practice every day. I tell him all the time, basketball rewards you all the time for doing the right stuff. I thought he had a great practice yesterday, being the leader, and then he came out today, and shots fell. And that's basketball rewarding you for doing the right stuff."

The Kahoks now face Edwardsville in a key Southwestern Conference game on Friday night, Dec. 19, 2025, at home, and Matthews expects a typical conference game.

"We're going to enjoy this one tonight," Matthews said, "and then, tomorrow, we're going to start preparing for Edwardsville. We're going to come in, and try to have a terrific practice, watch some film on them. I know they're extremely well-coached, and they're going to play hard. The Southwestern Conference is a grind, and we're going to be ready for a rock fight. Every night, a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches."

The Warriors did enjoy a five-point lead at the interval, but in the end, the Kahoks made the plays they needed to, and ended up on top.

"I'll tell you what, Collinsville played well, they had a great game plan," said Granite head coach Gerard Moore, "they had a great game plan, they came out, they wanted it a little bit more than we did, they forced us into a lot of decision-making situations. We just have to be better, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We didn't do a good job taking care of the ball, getting good shots, and running our offense. Today, we were a little off, out of sync for some reason, and it probably had to do with Collinsville's defense."

Tyler Moore put the Warriors up early with a three, and later on, with Granite up 5-4, Evan Brewer hit three basket in a row to put the Warriors ahead 11-4, forcing a Collinsville time out. Wilkinson came out and hit his first three of the night after the time out, but a Javier Cass basket gave Granite City a 13-7 lead after the first quarter.

The teams exchanged baskets to start the second, with the Warriors taking a 17-11 lead, but a JaPaul Hudson score enable the Kahoks to tie the game up at 17-17, climaxing a 6-0 run. A three from Antonio Dean and a pair of Cass free throws before the end of the period allowed Granite City to take a 22-17 halftime lead, which became 24-17 when Jalen Hall scored to start the second half.

Wilkinson then hit two of three free throws to cut the edge to 24-19, and a basket by CaMauri Mayes and a three from Wilkinson gave the Kahoks a 24-24 tie midway through the third. Jalen Hall hit a pair of free throws to give the Warriors the lead right back at 26-24, but baskets by Mayes and Wilkinson, along with another three from Wilkinson, gave Collinsville a 31-26 lead at three-quarter time.

In the final quarter, a three-point play by Moore cut the Kahoks' lead to 33-29, and a Xavier Harris basket pulled Granite to within 33-31. The Warriors stayed close, but in the end, Wilkinson and the Kahoks were able to hold off Granite, with Wilkinson hitting three of four free throws down the stretch, and Brown also hit important free throws down the stretch to help give Collinsville its 44-36 win.

Wilkinson led the Kahoks with his 20 points, while Brown added 10 points, both Hudson and Mayes had six points each, and Jordan Taylor scored two points. The Warriors were led by Cass, with nine points, while Moore had eight points, both Hall and Brewer hit for six points each, Dean had five points, and Harris scored two points.

Collinsville is now 4-4 on the season, and hosts Edwardsville in its important Southwestern Conference game Friday night at 7:30, then meets Bartonville Limestone in the SWIC Shootout Saturday at 2 p.m., then plays Belleville Althoff Catholic in its opener in the Prairie Farms Holiday Classic Dec. 27 at 6 p.m.

Granite City goes to 5-3. and plays three in a row starting Thursday at McCluer in a 5:30 p.m. start, hosts KIPP Academy Friday at 7:30 p.m., then meets Pinckneyville in the SWIC Shootout Saturday at 3:30 p.m., before meeting Lincoln in the opener of the Collinsville Classic Dec. 27 at 7:30 p.m. start.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

More like this:

Jordan Taylor Leads With 14 Points, Wilkinson Adds 11 Points, Kahoks Hold Off Granite Rally, Takes 42-39 Regional Win

Feb 26, 2026

Weller Leads With 16 Points, Tigers Outscore Kahoks In Critical Fourth Quarter 23-13 To Take Big 47-40 Win

Feb 11, 2026

Butler's Late Three Secures Edwardsville's Win Over Collinsville

Dec 20, 2025

Taylor Leads Four Players In Double Figures With 20 Points, Kahoks Take Holiday Classic Opener Over Althoff

Dec 28, 2025

Jace Wilkinson Brings Senior Experience To Kahoks Basketball Team, Looks Forward To Upcoming Prairie Farms Holiday Classic

Dec 18, 2025