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Kahoks End Another Streak
| Kahoks |
19 |
13 |
16 |
16 |
64 |
| Panthers |
14 |
5 |
13 |
27 |
59 |
2/3/2012 — Earlier in the season the Kahoks defeated the Panthers at home 69 to 53 to end a 10 year losing streak to the Panthers and Friday night the Kahoks beat the host Panthers 64 to 59 to win at the Panther Dome for the first time since December of 2001. The Kahok victory kept them alone in first place in the Southwestern Conference and raised their record to 20 and three as they are assured to be seeded number one in the Belleville East Regional when seeds come out next week.
Both teams on Friday came out hot, hot, hot, as neither team could break away from the other early in the game. Late in the first quarter with the score tied at 14 the Kahoks were able to finish out the quarter on a five to nothing run to take a 19 to 14 first quarter lead.
In the second quarter the Kahoks went to their Box-and-one defense for the second week in a row with Jason Kusnerick guarding Panther standout Roy Bullock III who had five quick points in the first quarter. The defense took Bullock out of the game and frustrated the Panthers as the Kahoks outscored the Panthers 13 to five in the quarter and held a 32 to 19 lead at halftime in large part to Jaris Wellmaker being able to get to the rim at will on offense.
In the second half it was more of the same for the Kahoks as they surged to a 48 to 26 lead with two minutes to go in the third quarter. The Kahoks went away from the Box-and-one defense at that time and that is when Bullock and Panthers made their move. O’Fallon went on a 22 to two run and cut the Kahok lead to two points with five minutes to go in the fourth, but fortunately the Kahoks hit enough free throws down the stretch to pull out the big road win. The Kahoks actually gave up 27 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Scoring for the Kahoks: Jaris Wellmaker 20, Daryn Foster 14, Devonta Crochrell 13, Jason Kusnerick nine, Caleb Johnson six and J’Vaughn Williams two points.
The JV Kahoks had a real nice road win at the Panther Dome with a 52 to 48 victory.
The Kahoks will be back in action next Friday night for a SWC conference tilt vs. the Alton Redbirds at Fletcher Gymnasium. The Kahoks defeated the Redbirds back in December in Alton 60 to 47. Game time for the JV is at 6 p.m. as the Kahoks continue their second time through the conference and will play four of their next five games at home.
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Kahoks Take the Lead in the SWC
| Kahoks |
10 |
11 |
13 |
17 |
51 |
| Flyers |
14 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
42 |
1/28/2012 — In a rare Saturday afternoon game, the Kahoks took sole possession of first place in the Southwestern Conference with a 51 to 42 over the Flyers of East St. Louis. Both East St. Louis and Edwardsville now sit one game back of the Kahoks. The game was moved off the normal Friday night date to accommodate Flyer basketball player Johnny McCray so he could attend his mother’s funeral on Friday. The entire Kahok nation sends out their heartfelt condolences to Johnny and the East St. Louis community.
The Flyers came ready to play despite not having standout DeShawn Munson in the lineup and took an early seven to two lead on the Kahoks. Munson continues to be hobbled by a thigh injury that he just can’t seem to shake the past month. The Kahoks finally settled down and closed the gap to trail the host team 14 to 10 after eight minutes. In the second quarter the Kahoks kept pace with the Flyers and then finished off the second quarter on an eight to two run to take 21 to 20 lead into halftime.
In the second half the Kahoks altered their defensive approach and came out of the locker room playing a Box-and-one defense on Flyer guard Brandon Johnson. This defensive switch seemed to frustrate the Flyers. Johnson and Daryn Foster started to heat up to get the Kahok offense going. Foster would have 14 of his game high 18 points in the second half for the Purple and White. The Box-and-one defense was played mostly by Jason Kusnerick who did an excellent job holding Johnson to only two points in the second half. After three quarters the Purple and White led 34 to 30, and in the fourth quarter they increased the lead even more to coast to the win. The Kahoks finished with 13 turnovers on the afternoon, but only two in the second half and held their own on the boards to get the big road win. Ten for 20 free throw shooting by the Kahoks could have been their downfall, but the Flyers shot poorly also with a three for 9 nine effort.
Scoring for the Kahoks: Daryn Foster 18, Jaris Wellmaker 14, J’Vaughn Williams eight, Jason Kusnerick seven, Devonta Crochrell two and Falando Wilkinson two points.
The JV Kahoks suffered a very tough loss as East St. Louis hit a driving layup at the buzzer to beat the JV Kahok squad by two points.
The Kahoks will be back in action next Friday night for a SWC conference tilt vs. the O’Fallon Panthers. The Kahoks defeated the Panthers back in December at Fletcher Gymnasium 69 to 53. Game time for the JV is at 6 p.m. as the Kahoks continue their second time through the conference.
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Kahoks Make History
| Kahoks |
14 |
17 |
9 |
16 |
56 |
| Tigers |
13 |
16 |
9 |
15 |
53 |
1/21/2012 — Saturday night the Kahoks made history with their 56 to 53 win over the Oakville, MO Tigers in the Belleville East Mid-Winter Classic. The Purple and White became the third high school basketball program in the nation to reach the 2,000 win plateau. The other two high schools are Dobyns-Bennett of Kingsport, TN, and fellow Illinois high school Centralia. With the win the Kahoks recorded their 18th win on the year against three losses and finished two and one in the Classic.
The Kahoks led early and often in the first quarter and held a slim 14 to 13 lead at the end of the first period, but could never pull away from the Tigers. The Kahoks got their lead to nine points in the second quarter, but Oakville closed out the quarter on a run to trail 31 to 29 at halftime.
In the third quarter the Kahoks continued to have trouble shaking the upstart Tigers and never could extend their lead larger than five points. As the game continued, it seemed the Kahoks started to play tighter and feel the pressure of the big milestone at hand. After three quarters the Kahoks led only 40 to 38. Late in the fourth quarter Oakville ran off a seven to zero run to shock the Kahoks and take a 51 to 49 lead and worry the large crowd on hand in support of the Kahoks. After two free throws by Daryn Foster tied the contest at 51 with a little over a minute left, Falando Wilkinson made the play of the game with a steal on the inbounds pass, which led to two made free throws by Wilkinson to give the Kahoks the lead for good. The Kahoks went three for six from the free throw line, which gave the Tigers a chance, but when the final desperate 3-point shot was missed by the Tigers at the buzzer, all the Purple and White faithful could exhale knowing the 2,000 win plateau was reached. The Kahoks struggled once again from the field by shooting only 32%, but they dominated the rebounding department with a 36 to 24 edge over the Tigers.
Scoring for the Kahoks: Daryn Foster 12, Jaris Welmaker10, J’Vaughn Williams 10, Jason Kusnerick seven, Falando Wilkinson seven, Devonta Crochrell five and Caleb Johnson five points.
The Kahoks will be back in action next Saturday on the road vs. East St. Louis Sr. High School. Game time is at 2 p.m. for the JV game with the Kahoks Varsity to follow afterwards. This game was moved from Friday night to at the request of East St. Louis Sr. High School. With both teams tied for first place in the Southwestern Conference, it will be a huge game to determine who ends up on top at the end of the season.
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