Kahoks drop action-packed OT decision to Edwardsville

By Mark Jurgena

There’s a lot that can be said about game one of the Collinsville-Edwardsville boys basketball rivalry game from Friday night at Fletcher Gym.

But in the end, the Tigers outscored the Kahoks 10-4 in overtime thanks to Isayah Kloster’s eight OT points to pick up a 58-52 win.

The win upped Edwardsville’s mark to 10-7 on the year and 2-3 in the SWC, while Collinsville dropped to 12-6 and also 2-3 in conference play.

“We just didn’t get that first stop,” said Collinsville coach Darin Lee. 

The Kahoks got their one and only stop in OT when Kloster finally missed a free throw after hitting six in a row in extra time. Meanwhile, Edwardsville’s defense picked up stops on five of seven possessions in the same span.

That extra four minutes was not an indication of the flow of this game. Overall there were 17 lead changes and seven ties on the night but Collinsville was able to tie it up twice with under three minutes to play in regulation.

Jamorie Wysinger got the first of those ties when he buried a three with 2:14 to make it 46-46. It was his second three of the period and fourth overall for CHS in that stanza. Jake Wilkinson and Chase Reynolds hit the other two.

“We made some shots in the fourth quarter to get us back in it,” said Lee. “We did a nice job offensively in the fourth.”

However, it was a pair of free throws that pushed the game into OT.

Collinsville big man Zach Chambers was fouled with just over 21.6 seconds to play with the Kahoks down two 48-46. After canning the first one he could not hit the second. However, Edwardsville committed lane violations twice to allow for an extra chance which Chambers would hit to tie the game at 48-48.

“They were just trying to screen us out and they were in early I guess,” said Lee. 

The Tigers had a chance to win it in regulation but an attempt at a three was not good.

Kloster had 20 points for the Tigers with Malik Allen scoring 21. That duo went 15-for-20 from the floor for the game. 

“He (Kloster) was a tough match for us and we knew that going in,” said Lee. “They shot it well and he made some shots.”

Kahok Stats

Wysinger had 18 points while Wilkinson had 11. Rimar dropped 10 for CHS.

Chambers led the club with five rebounds, Horras had eight assists, and Wysinger had two steals.

Collinsville 75 Cahokia 48

Sometimes looks can be deceiving.

Collinsville opened the Jan. 3 game against Cahokia by dazzling the Fletcher Gym crowd with a quick layup four seconds into the game, but it was the finish to each quarter that made the difference in their big win over the Comanches.

All told, the Kahoks outscored Cahokia at the end of each quarter by a combined total of 32-0.

“Holy cow!” said CHS coach Darin Lee. “It just seemed like at the end of quarters we made some runs, I didn’t know what the points were, but wow! That was impressive.

“Sometimes when we get under a minute, we look for a last shot but we didn’t do that here. We kind of went ahead and tried to score to get another possession. Kind of a carryover from the (PFHC)  tournament with the shot clock.”

That flashy beginning took place on the opening tip when Zach Chambers tapped it ahead to Nick Horras who whipped a pass to a cutting Jake Wilkinson flying down the right side of the court. One dribble and a layup later and the Kahoks had a 2-0 lead at the 7:56 mark of the game.

Despite the fast start, they never could quite put the Comanches away in the first half as CHS led by eight points after one and 38-28 at the half.

“Yes and no I guess,” said Lee when asked about putting Cahokia away. “We were up ten, we were up by 19 at the end of the third quarter? We ended up winning by 27 so it’s hard to be picky about that. It’s kind of splitting hairs.” 

What did finally allow CHS to pull away was their finish each quarter.

Collinsville had a quick 4-0 run over the last 36 seconds to finish the first with a 15-7 lead.

The second quarter saw the two teams trade buckets until right before half when the Kahoks went on another fast 4-0 run complimented by a huge blocked shot from Adam Rimar to lead by ten at the half.

The purple and white still couldn’t quite pull away until the end of the third when they went on a 10-0 spree to take a 53-34 lead into the final stanza.

Finally, they concluded the festivities with a 14-0 run during the final period.

Kahok stats

Collinsville had four players in double figures with Jake Wilkinson leading the way at 22 points. Jamorie Wysinger and Nick Horras had 16 each while Zach Chambers had 11.

Chambers led the club with 11 rebounds while Rimar, Wilkinson and Rimar all had six boards.

Horras also filled up the stat sheet with nine assists and two steals.

Upcoming Schedule

After facing Alton on Tuesday night the Kahoks return to action tomorrow at Fletcher Gym for another SWC matchup this time with Belleville (East).