COLLINSVILLE – Collinsville’s Jamorie Wysinger was lights out in the second semifinal of the 39th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, scoring all 21 points on seven-of-10 shooting from behind the three-point arc as the host Kahoks won over Lincoln 67-41 Thursday night at Vergil Fletcher Gym to advance to the final of the tournament.
Earlier in the afternoon, in the quarterfinals, the Kahoks used strong defense to force Triad turnovers, which Collinsville turned into points, as Nick Horras scored 20 points and Wysinger added 14 as the Kahoks defeated the Knights 67-29 to move on to the semifinals.
In both games, the Kahoks played exceptionally well, especially in the semifinal, and head coach Darin Lee was a very happy man afterward.
“Well, obviously, you should talk to Jamorie, he’s really shooting it well,” Lee said. “We played them last year, and had some success, that, which is what we were trying offensively. We just got some guys spotted up, got Zack (Chambers) on the block, Nick in the corner and the middle, Jamorie, moved the basketball. Right now, at times, we’re a tough team to stop, and Wysinger and Horras are really shooting the ball, and Zack’s low on that block.”
Wysinger also showed great range on his shots, occasionally hitting from NBA three-point range, and on his last three, hit from past 30 feet out, showing great confidence in his range.
“You know,” Lee said with a smile and laugh, “one of them was awfully deep. But he’s got some range, now, and he works at it. He works at his shooting. Him and Nick really work at their shooting. So, kudos to those guys. We came in Thanksgiving Day, they wanted to come in Christmas Eve, by themselves, and they shoot all the time. I just come here with them, and that’s why they’re good at it. You’ve got to give them credit, they work at it. So, yeah, he’s got some range.”
In both games, the Kahoks played exceptionally well, and Lee was very pleased with how the results turned out.
“This is incredible,” Lee said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a team play two games the same day like that. I mean, we just played well, we shot it well, and made it look easy. It’s not that easy. We shot the heck out of it today, and we’re guarding pretty well.”
Wysinger started giving notice about his big game by hitting a three up top of the key to give Collinsville an early 3-0 lead, and after a pair of Railer baskets that put Lincoln up 4-3, and also after an exchange of baskets, Chambers hit on a three-point play to put Collinsville up 8-6, and triggered a run, which included Wysinger’s second three, that put the Kahoks ahead 14-6. Near the end of the period, a three by Aiden Gowen cut the lead to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Horras led the way on short-range jumpers as a part of an 11-0 Kahok run to start the second to make the score 28-13. Gowin hit another three to stop the run, but Collinsville, led by Chase Reynolds, started an 8-4 run, which included another big basket by Horras, to give the Kahoks a 36-20 halftime lead.
Collinsville took complete command of the game in the third quarter, starting off with a Chambers basket that resulted from a great inside move to up the lead to 38-20, and from there, Wysinger hit his threes, Horras stayed hot from outside, and Chambers threw down an emphatic dunk, all before Wysinger hit an NBA three from way outside to give the Kahoks a 57-29 lead after three quarters.
In the fourth, it was another Wysinger three that put the score to 60-30 and triggered the running clock rule, and from there, Wysinger’s final three of the game and good shooting all around gave the Kahoks their 67-41 win to put Collinsville in the final.
Wysinger had 21 points on his seven-for-10 shooting, while Chambers added 16 points. Horras came up with 12 points, Evan Wilkinson had eight points, Solomon Talbott scored four points, and Reynolds, Stanley Carnahan, and Tyree Brister all had two points each.
In the quarterfinal game earlier in the day, tough Kahok defense led to turnovers by the Knights, which allowed Collinsville to take a 22-11 lead after the first quarter, then extend the advantage out to 32-19 at halftime and 55-24 after three quarters, outscoring Triad in the fourth quarter 12-5 to take their 67-29 win.
Horras led with 20 points for the Kahoks, while Wysinger hit for four threes in scoring 14 points, Carnahan and Wilkinson each had eight points, Chambers hit for six points, Reynolds scored five points, Brister had four points and Talbott scored two points.
Owen Droy led the Knights with seven points, while Drew Winslow and Landon Zawodniak each scored six points, Tyler Thompson hit for five points. Ethan Stewart had three points and Donny Becker had two points.
The Kahoks are now 15-0 and will take on Quincy, who won their quarterfinal over Belleville Althoff Catholic 61-48 and their semifinal over O’Fallon 57-46, in the final Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Before that, the Panthers and Railers play in the third-place game at 6 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
