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

EDWARDSVILLE - Jordan Taylor led Collinsville with 14 points, while Jace Wilkinson added 11 points as the Kahoks held off a furious fourth quarter rally by Granite City and took a 42-39 win in the IHSA Class 4A boys basketball regional second semifinal Wednesday night, Feb. 26, 2026, at Lucco-Jackson Gym in Edwardsville.

For the fifth-seeded Kahoks, the win puts them into the final Friday night, Feb. 27, 2026, against the top-seeded Tigers, who eliminated Quincy 42-38 in the first semifinal earlier that evening.

It was a closely-competitive game along the way, with Collinsville holding the Warriors to four points through most of the third quarter before Granite came back to within one point twice, and even had a chance to win the game in the dying seconds, but a shot went off the glass and missed, the Kahoks were able to recover the rebound, and put the game to bed with a free throw and another defensive stand. The Collinsville defense was a big factor throughout the game.

"Oh, yeah, absolutely," said Collinsville head coach Hank Matthews. "They've (Granite City) had a really good season, a winning season, they played extremely hard, we knew it was going to be a grind. They got hot when we missed on a couple of possessions, but to hold them to 39 points, we guarded our butts off, and our guys played hard, and stayed composed down the stretch, which is something I'm really proud of, and it just talks to the growth of this team."

In the end, it came down to a pair of possessions where the Kahoks executed much better, and according to Granite head coach Gerard Moore, it made the biggest difference in the game.

"We knew it was going to come down to one or two possessions," Moore said.
"When you know a team as well as we know them, in a survival game, they pretty much saw us all year. So they know pretty much what we run, and we know pretty much what they run. It comes down to possessions and executing at the end of the game. I felt like we played well, and well enough to win. But they were just better in one or two possessions, which cost us the game."

Although the Warriors were able to start their rally late in the third quarter, Collinsville was able to hold Granite to four free throws in the opening part of the period, which turned out to be a big factor in the game.

"Our defense all game prevailed for us," Matthews said. "They got loose in that fourth quarter, a little bit, but for the most part, I was really happy with how we guarded, and we did a great job."

The senior leadership of the Kahoks came through right when it was needed, as well.

"Seniors," Matthews said. "You've got to have seniors make plays, and in the postseason, to help you win, and our seniors did exactly that. They were ready for the moment."

When asked about Edwardsville and a possible game plan against the Tigers, Matthews turned a bit sheepish, with a wry smile.

"Can't wait," Matthews said. "We're going to have a great practice tomorrow," he said with a smile."And I can't wait."

Taylor fired the opening salvo of the game, hitting a pair of baskets to give Collinsville an early 4-0 lead, before the sides traded threes to make it 7-3 for the Kahoks. Collinsville eventually led at quarter time 12-9, and in the second quarter, after Javier Cass scored to cut the lead to 12-11. Collinsville maintained the lead that bounced between two and four points throughout the period, with DeAndre Brown scoring to make it 21-17, then banking home a three as the buzzer, but the officials waved it off, saying the shot came after time expired, leaving Collinsville ahead 21-17 at the interval.

The Kahoks started off the second half by scoring the first eight points of the third period, getting free throws from Taylor and a basket and four free throws from Wilkinson to build the lead up to 29-17. The Warriors could only counter with free throws from Dean and Brewer, as a dunk by Taylor and another basket from Wilkinson made it 33-19 for Collinsville, The Warriors then started to come alive, as Cass drove in to score, then sank a three, and Moore hit a free throw to help cut the Collinsville lead to 34-24 at three-quarter time.

As the fourth quarter started, after a pair of Wilkinson free throws made it 36-24, Cass hit a three, and Brewer had a chance for a three-point play, and when Granite got the rebound of the miss, Xavier Harris and Cass hit back-to-back threes to make it 36-35 with 3:20 to go. Wilkinson and Johnnie Coleman traded scores to make it 38-37, and two more scores made it 40-39. In the final seconds, Cass got a good shot that deflected off the glass and stayed out, Collinsville got the rebound, and a pair of free throws by CaMauri Mayes iced the game for the Kahoks, 42-39.

Taylor led the Kahoks with 14 points, while Wilkinson hit for 11 points, Brown had nine points, Mayes came up with seven points, and JuPaul Hudson scored a single point. Cass led the Warriors with 17 points, while Brewer had nine points, Coleman scored seven points, Dean had four points, and Harris hit for two points.

Collinsville goes to 14-16, and meets the Tigers in the regional final Friday night at 7 p.m. The winner plays the O'Fallon regional winner, either Belleville East or Alton, in the semifinals of the Rock Island sectional on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a neutral site game somewhere in Metro-East, and the winner of that game plays for the sectional title Mar. 6 at 7 p.m.

The Rock Island winner plays the Joliet West winner in the Illinois State University super-sectional game Mar. 9 at 7 p.m., at CEFCU Arena, with the winner going to the state finals Mar. 13-14 at State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

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