BELLEVILLE – Senor forward Ray’Sean Taylor was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, adding six rebounds, seven assists and six steals in a great all-around performance that helped lead Collinsville to a 62-38 win over O’Fallon in a semifinal of the IHSA Class 4A boys basketball Pekin sectional played Tuesday evening at Belleville West High School’s gym.
The win advanced the Kahoks to the Sweet Sixteen, where they’ll look to win their first sectional championship since 1994 in the final Friday night at Dawdy Hawkins Gym in Pekin.
After a tight first quarter than ended with the Kahoks up 6-4, Taylor began to take charge in the second, hitting for eight points in the quarter while finding center Keydrian Jones in the paint twice as Collinsville built up a 25-14 halftime lead over the Panthers.
O’Fallon did play well defensively, but couldn’t get their shots to drop while the Panthers’ two top scorers — Shaun Riley II and Dawson Algee – got into some foul trouble
The Kahoks opened the second half with an 8-0 run as Jones asserted himself inside, going on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 33-14. The lead became 16 in the final quarter when the Panthers tried to rally back into the game, but Cawhan Smith went seven-of-eight from the free-throw line to put the game away.
In addition to Taylor, Jones had 14 points while Smith hit for nine points in leading the Kahoks. Algee and Mason Blakemore led the Panthers with 12 points each, while Drew Tebbe had five points and Riley four.
The Kahoks improve to 31-3 on the season, and will meet Normal Community West, who won the other semifinal at Pekin over cross-town rival Normal Community 62-47, in Friday night’s final, with a start time of 7 p.m. The Panthers season ended with a 26-7 record, O’Fallons largest win total since the 2009-10 season.
