The Collinsville boys basketball team surrendered only 21 first-half points to the East St. Louis Flyers Tuesday, but needed nearly four quarters to score that many for themselves on their way to a 59-33 Southwestern Conference loss.

Anfirnee Wilkinson attempts a shot against East St. Louis / Photo by Roger Starkey

After taking a 3-2 lead early in the first quarter, the Kahoks (0-2 SWC, 3-4) were outscored 14-1 to close the quarter. Collinsville managed only one field goal in the quarter and three for the half on 3 of 15 shooting.

The Kahoks shot 30 percent from the field for the contest, but were at only 22 percent entering the fourth quarter. Many of the misses were not difficult shots, including a handful of layup attempts, but Head Coach Darin Lee said the Flyers’ defense played well.

“Their quickness can bother you,” Lee said. “They get off their feet quick and they can cause you to be a little jumpy.”

Despite scoring only nine first-half points, Collinsville was in striking distance at the half, trailing by 12. The Flyers (1-1 SWC, 4-2) were held to 7-20 shooting in the first half and committed six turnovers, to keep the Kahoks close.

Collinsville scored the first two points of the second half to pull within 10, but the Flyers extended their lead to 40-16 by the end of the quarter to put the game out of reach. The Kahoks pumped in 17 fourth quarter points on the strength of 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Thanks to early Flyer foul trouble, it appeared that the Kahoks’ cold shooting could be overcome at the charity stripe. East St. Louis committed seven fouls in the first six minutes of the game to put Collinsville in the bonus. The Kahoks, however, converted on only 2 of 7 free throw attempts and East St. Louis committed only two more fouls in the half.

With the Kahoks struggling to score, they did not have anyone to turn to get them out of their funk. “We don’t have that go-to scorer and that can get you in trouble,” Lee said.

Junior guard Anfirnee Wilkinson averaged 18.6 points in the first five games, but was held to two against Edwardsville Saturday and eight against the Flyers.

Junior guard Brett Langley led the team in scoring for a second consecutive game. Langley’s 12 points were all scored on second-half 3-pointers. All eight of his points Saturday were also scored in the second half.

Flyer’s senior guard Darrion Bean led all scorers with 20. Junior forward Terry Becknor contributed 13 points, all in the second half and many on second-chance points. The Kahoks have struggled to box off in their zone defense, giving up too many second-chance points, Lee said.

East St. Louis attempted 46 shots on the evening, going 6 of 23 from beyond the arc. The Flyers converted on 11 of 15 free throw attempts.

Collinsville freshman guard Ronnie Midgett saw his first varsity action Tuesday, scoring six point on two 3-pointers. Midgett shot 2 of 9 overall.

Other Collinsville scorers: Wethers-4, Rickman-2, Davis-1

The Kahoks will seek their first conference victory in only their second home game of the season when they battle O’Fallon at 7:30 p.m. Friday.