Nine players scored for Collinsville Wednesday night as they coasted to a 22-point victory over host Herrin in the Pyramid Plus Tournament.
Image by Roger Starkey
The Kahoks have won their three games at the tournament by an average of 25 points. Head Coach Darin Lee expects a more difficult game Friday against Mt. Vernon (3-0). Collinsville and Mt. Vernon are the only teams in the round-robin format tournament with fewer than two loses. Therefore, the winner of their game will be the tournament champions.
Against Herrin (1-2), the Kahoks followed the same script they did for their previous two games. They gained an early advantage, held a lead after every quarter and put the game away with a big fourth quarter.
Collinsville led 19-11 after one, 30-15 at the half and 44-31 at the end of three quarters, before pulling away for the 63-41 victory. Lee said the Tigers offense lacked the fire power to make a run after Collinsville grabbed a big lead. “They really struggled against our zone,” Lee said.
The defensive difference maker for the Kahoks was junior center Emondre Rickman, who finished with eight blocked shots. “That’s why they only had 15 points in the first half, he blocked so many shots,” Lee said. “He didn’t have a really good offensive game, but he did dominate defensively.”
Rickman finished with six points for Collinsville. Junior guard Anfirnee Wilkinson scored 14 to lead the team for the second time in three games. Wilkinson was the only Kahoks player to score in double figures.
Collinsville’s depth has allowed them to play up-tempo and put up solid offensive numbers, Lee said. That depth allowed the Kahoks to wear down Herrin, who was also playing its third game in three days. Bench players scored 22 points for Collinsville Wednesday.
Herrin followed the lead of Salem and Soldan, focusing their defensive energy on Collinsville’s big men. The Tigers dared the Kahoks guards to score, and paid for it. Senior guard Jacob Shaffer scored nine points. Junior guards Nic Gonet and Brett Langley put up eight points each.
Junior center Sean Davis contributed six points, as did senior forward Matt Chambers. Junior forward Harrison Wethers scored six points and junior guard Jamal Wellmaker added two.
Looking forward to Friday, Mt. Vernon is a small, very quick team that will be hard for the Kahoks to match up against, Lee said. “They really don’t have any post players, so we got to really outrebound them and we got to figure out a way to get it to our big guys.”
Tip off is 7 p.m. Friday at Herrin High School.
Kahoks’ schedule and results http://metroindependent.com/2013/11/14/boys-basketball-2013-schedule-and-results/2191/
