Anfirnee Wilkinson notched his sixth consecutive double-digit scoring game, and Collinsville knocked down 10 3-pointers for the second straight game, but fell to Cahokia 49-47 Wednesday at the Jerseyville Tournament.

Anfirnee Wilkinson in action earlier this season / Photo by Roger Starkey

Wilkinson scored 20 points and Jacob Shaffer 10, to nearly match the Comanches’ pair of Division I recruits, who scored 31 points. Carleton Rivers led Cahokia (14-8) with 16 points, followed by Darius Austin with 15.

Austin will join the Kangaroos of the University of Missouri-Kansas City next year. Rivers will be a Bulldog, playing for Drake of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Austin played like a bulldog Wednesday, getting to the foul line eight times, making seven. Collinsville Head Coach Darin Lee said the Kahoks (7-11) are not proficient at the one thing that can slow Austin.

“We don’t take charges very well, and that’s the only way you can stop him,” Lee said. Austin was 4-11 from the field.

Cahokia’s interior defense, anchored by 6-foot-10 DeVonte Williams, may have been the difference in the tight contest. The Comanches held the Kahoks centers to a combined 0-10 from the floor. Lee said the difficultly scoring in the paint did not come as a surprise.

“We knew we’d have trouble. We played them in the summer and we couldn’t score around the basket,” Lee said. “But, we thought we might get one of them to go.”

Collinsville lead 11-6 after a quarter of play, but were down 22-18 at the half. Cahokia held a 38-37 advantage after three quarters.

The tight contest came down to the final seconds. Shaffer missed a layup attempt with eight seconds remaining and the Kahoks trailing by three to end any hope of a victory. Lee said the attempted layup late in the game, instead of going for three, was appropriate.

“It got tight,” Lee said. “We would have wanted to shoot a three there if it was eight (seconds) or above, but he just missed it. If he’d have made it, we’d have called a timeout.”

Shaffer played another solid game, scoring 10 points and dishing out a team-high four assists. The 6-foot-1 guard grabbed six rebounds, second only to center Sean Davis’ seven.

The deciding factor in a two-point contest is often a discrepancy in execution, not talent. In Wednesday’s two-point loss, Collinsville shot 3-8 from the free throw line, Cahokia was 9-12.

Collinsville wraps up the round-robin Jerseyville tournament with a 6 p.m. contest against Pittsfield Saturday.

 Unofficial line for the Kahoks