COLLINSVILLE – Senior Donovan Coates led the way with 17 points as one of three Collinsville players in double figures, with the Kahoks scoring 24 consecutive points in the second and third quarters in going on to a 64-31 win over Carbondale in the first round of the 40th Prairie Farms Collinsville Holiday Classic basketball tournament Friday night at Vergil Fletcher Gym.
Collinsville took charge in that stretch, expanding its lead from 17-15 to 41-15 before a three from Chase Fike ended the drought for the Terriers. By that time, the Kahoks had taken complete control, and played well throughout the game.
“It was a great effort,” said Collinsville head coach Darin Lee. “I thought we guarded hard, dominated the glass, and Jace (Wilkinson) opened up, knocked down some threes in the first half, and made a big difference.”
The 24-0 run in the second and third quarters, along with good defense, definitely spelled the difference for the Kahoks in the game. The Kahoks were also able to hit the open shots all night as well.
“Don and Jace made shots,” Lee said, “and then, we really defended them, and they had a tough time scoring over us inside.”
The Kahoks are now 7-4 for the season, a good start for the team, and expectations are to do well in their tournament, as Collinsville is the defending champion.
“We’ve got two big games tomorrow,” Lee said, “and, obviously, everybody wants to try to get themselves in the championship, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Lee pointed to consistent scoring by both Wilkinson and Coates as a big key to the team’s success so far this season, along with the contributions of two big men for the team, Stanley Carnahan and Solomon Talbott.
“Well, Jace and Don have scored the basketball for us,” Lee said, “we’ve got the two big guys, Stan and Sol, inside, and Chase Reynolds has been steady on the point for us. Our defense is coming around, and that’s making a difference, our defense getting better.”
As always, the Kahoks’ defense will be a major key of how things come together this season, and, of course, Lee has some big expectations for the remainder of the tournament.
“Well, tomorrow, we want to try to win two,” Lee said. We’ll start with The Woodland (Christian of suburban Houston). It’ll be a tough game; they’re a really good team. It’s going to be tough. If we can contain them, we can get ourselves a victory.”
A three from Coriyon Keene and another basket gave Carbondale an early 5-0 lead to start, but Wilkinson’s first three of the night cut the edge to 5-3. Another three increased the Terrier lead to 8-3, but a basket inside by Carnahan and a three from Reynolds tied the game 8-8, with the two sides trading threes to make it 11-11, A basket from Evan Wilkinson and free throws from Coates allowed the Kahoks to take a 15-13 lead at quarter time.
In the second, Coates scored off the start to make it 17-13, before a pair of free throws from Jaxon Marlow-Evans cut the lead to 17-15. That would be all the scoring by the Terriers in the quarter, as the Kahoks, led by Jace Wilkinson and Carnahan, scored 16 unanswered points to expand the Collinsville lead to 31-15 at halftime. The run continued at the start of the third quarter, as both Wilkinson and Coates helped to expand the lead to 41-15 before Fike’s three ended the Carbondale drought. Marlow-Evans helped to lead a rally that had cut the Kahok lead to 47-25, but Collinsville, behind Carnahan and Coates, expanded the lead to 50-27 after three quarters.
In the fourth, a Carnahan basket gave the Kahoks a 60-29 lead, which triggered the running clock rule the rest of the way, as Collinsville was able to shut down the Terriers effectively In taking their 64-31 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Coates led the Kahoks with 17 points, while Jace Wilkinson hit for 16 points, Carnahan came up with 13 points, Reynolds scored five points, both Talbott and Jordan Taylor had four points each, Camauri Mayes had three points, and Evan Wilkinson scored two points. Marlow-Evans led the Terriers with 15 points, while Keene scored six points, both Calen Lilly and Keene had three points apiece, and Davin Wooley and Will Lehman had two points each.
The Kahoks advance to a quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon against The Woodlands Christian, a 68-33 winner over Oakville in their opener, Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., with the winner going to the semifinals Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. Carbondale is now 6-5, and plays Oakville in the consolation bracket quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday in the auxiliary gym. The final is set for Sunday night at 8 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
