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

COLLINSVILLE - Jordan Taylor led four players in double figures with 20 points as Collinsville took control from the opening tip and defeated Belleville Althoff Catholic 63-34 in a first-round game of the 41st Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday boys basketball Classic Saturday evening at Vergil Fletcher Gym.

The Kahoks took charge of the game from the opening tip, taking a 21-7 first-quarter lead, and never looked back to advance to a Sunday afternoon quarterfinal date with Triad, who defeated Quincy 51-42 in an earlier game on Saturday.

"I'm really proud of our guys, said Kahoks head coach Hank Matthews in his postgame interview. "I thought we executed the scouting report really well. I challenged our guys this past week that we need to execute a little bit better, and I thought we went out there from the jump, and did a great job defensively executing the scouting report, and I think that's where we got our energy from. When we can get our energy from that, I think shots go in. Basketball rewards you for doing the right stuff, so I was really proud. I thought we had good leadership, I thought our guys executed really well."

Triad will pose a good challenge for the Kahoks on Sunday afternoon, and it's a challenge Matthews is looking forward to.

"Triad is a really good team," Matthews said. "We had a tough battle with them earlier in the year, so it's a great measure for us to see how much better we've gotten since that time. We played them about a month ago, and now, we can play them again. And so, we get to measure ourselves on who's gotten better since then, so it'll be really fun."

Matthews isn't looking beyond the next game against the Knights, but will worry about Sunday night's semifinal when it comes.

"We're focused on Triad right now," Matthews said. "So, we're going to prepare some stats, bring our boys in early in the morning, and focus on that. After that, we'll worry about what's next."

It's indeed a great start to the tournament, and Matthews feels very blessed to be a part of a great event, which has become a premier high school basketball tournament in both the St. Louis area and the state itself.

"We had a great crowd," Matthews said, "a great environment. We are super lucky to be able to host a tournament like this. With so much support, so many volunteers, and considerable help from my players' parents. I'm so appreciative of it, and lucky to be a part of such a high-class event."

The Kahoks opened the game with a big start and led after the first quarter 21-7, then in the second quarter, they were in total control, with Taylor leading the way for Collinsville in taking a 37-15 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Steven Brown hit a three-pointer to open for the Crusaders, but DeAndre Brown led a Kahok charge that saw Collinsville extend the lead to 39-21. Mike Roche did his best to keep Althoff in the game, cutting the lead to 43-26, but Collinsville stayed in control and went out to a 50-28 lead after the third quarter.

In the fourth, Kyle Johnson hit from outside to cut the lead to 50-30, but Taylor and the Kahoks were in complete command, as the offense and defense executed well, with Collinsville coming away with the 63-34 win.

Taylor led the Kahoks with 20 points, while both Brown and CaMauri Mayes hit for 12 points each, Jace Wilkinson scored 11 points, Kaleb Garcia had four points, and both JuPaul Hudson and Eli Ramey hit for two points each. The Crusaders were led by 11 points from Johnson, while Steven Brown had eight points, Michael Franklin, Jr. scored six points, Jay Crumble, Jr. hit for four points, Luke Smith had three points, and Cayden Clay had two points.

Collinsville is now 6-6, and faces Triad in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal game Sunday afternoon, with the semifinal set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday against the winner of Lincoln and Decatur MacArthur, who won over Rockford East 76-44 in the final game of the day on Saturday.

Althoff goes to 5-6, and plays in the consolation quarterfinal against Quincy Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the auxiliary gym, with a date in the consolation semifinal against the winner of Rockford East and Granite City, who fell to Lincoln 46-37, starting at 9 p.m. The final is set for 7:30 p.n, Monday night.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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