GALESBURG — Behind its 1-2-2 defense, Quincy has often humbled Galesburg for decades in Western Big 6 Conference showdowns.
The Blue Devils did it again Friday night before the biggest crowd of the season at Thiel Gym and derailed the Silver Streaks' four-game winning streak.
Forcing 14 first-half turnovers and 22 in the game while shooting 54 percent (28-for-52), Quincy (13-3, 4-1) ran past the Silver Streaks 70-33 and stayed close behind 6-0 Moline in the WB6 race. Galesburg slipped to 16-7 and 2-3 in the league - all three losses coming at home.
For Streaks coach Mike Reynolds, it wasn't what the Blue Devils were doing — it was who was doing it.
"Tonight they had the five best players on the floor," he said. "No matter what defense you play, if you've got the five best players on the floor, you should win."
He added, "To me, the story of the game is our defense. Whatever they wanted to do, they did."
As has been the case in recent games, Galesburg got off to its usual slow start, trailing 8-0 before scoring on an Andrew Anderson reverse layup at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter. The Streaks trailed 21-14 after eight minutes.
When Quincy hit 10 of 14 shots in the second quarter, the Streaks dug their hole a little deeper by making 10 turnovers in the period. A streak of ballhandling mistakes contributed to a scoreless stretch that lasted over three minutes in the middle of the quarter and Galesburg fell behind 45-21 by halftime.
But wait, it got worse.
If anybody thought a miraculous comeback was possible, those hopes were crushed when the Blue Devils ran off the first 15 points of the third quarter and the Streaks didn't score until Quinn Anderson scored a bucket with 1:22 left.
It was 63-25 to start the final eight minutes.
"It was a great atmosphere," said Quincy coach Andy Douglass, whose team was backed by a large, loud fan contingent. "This is a gym Quincy has found it fun to play in for a long time.
"They (Galesburg) are a hard-nosed team and he (Reynolds) does a nice job. This is not what anyone expected."
Andrew Anderson and Quinn Anderson scored nine points each to lead Galesburg.
Senior guard Aaron Shoot scored 20 points to lead Quincy — 17 of those in the first half. Ben Amos, a 6-5 post player, scored 14 and 12 of his came before intermission.
And Jirehl Brock, a 6-1 junior who is contemplating nine NCAA Division I football offers, played point on the 1-2-2 press.
Galesburg will travel to Rock Island next Friday to start the second half of the WB6 schedule.
Quincy 70, Galesburg 33
Q 21-21-18-7 — 70
G 14-7-4-8 — 33
Quincy (13-3, 4-1) Shoot 8-9 3-4 22, Eldridge 1-3 0-0 2 Smith 2-7 2-2 7, Reis 1-2 0-0 2, Brock 4-6 11-1 11, Frese 0-1 0-0 0, Tenhouse 1-2 1-2 3, Salrin 0-2 0-0 2, Amos 7-15 0-0 14, Moore 1-3 0-0 3, Ary 1-1 0-0 2, Crider 2-4 1-1 6. Totals: 28-52 7-9 70
Galesburg (16-7, 2-3) Fields 0-2 0-0 0, Parks 0-2 0-0 0, Dotson 0-3 0-0 0, Hawkins 0-2 0-0 0, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Hodge 2-10 0-0 6, Sampson 1-1 0-0 2, Carl 1-3 2-2 4, Endthoff 1-4 0-0 3, Q. Anderson 4-8 1-2 9, Ramirez 0-2 0-0 0, McCants 0-1 0-0 0, Price 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-44 3-4 30.
3-point goals — Galesburg 4-22 (Fields 0-1, Parks 0-1, Dotson 0-2, Hawkins 0-1, A. Anderson 1-1, Hodge 2-8, Endthoff 0-2, Ramirez 0-1). Quincy 7-11 Shoot 3-3, Smith 1-4, Brock 2-2, Crider 1-2)). Fouls — Galesburg 9, Quincy 9, Rebounds - Galesburg 33 (A. Anderson 9), Quincy 28 (Amos 5), Turnovers - Quincy 6, Galesburg 22
Sophomore game
Quincy 69, Galesburg 60
Q 7-9-27-26 — 69
G 6-14-16-24 — 60
Quincy — Reis 6 10-12 23, Crider 6 4-5 16, smith-Pacmer 4 8-11 16, Rupert 5 0-0 10, Hilbing 0 2-2 2, Scott 1 0-1 2, Alexandre 0 0-0 0, Nicholson 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 0-0 0, Richardson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 24-31 69.
Galesburg — Price 8 0-0 21, Stewart 6 2-3 14, Milan 5 1-2 13, Sampson 2 2-5 7, Gatson 1 1-4 3, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Harter 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, MBoyo 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-14 60.
Totals — Galesburg 8 (Price 5, Milan 2, Sampson), Quincy 1 (Reis). Fouls — Galesburg 21, Quincy 14.