The FCHS boys' varsity basketball team was within striking distance at halftime against Du Quoin Tuesday night at Max Morris Gym, but the Indian's athleticism took over in the second en route to their 51-30 victory.
Playing without senior forward Ashten Ashtiani, the Redbirds rallied from an early 10-2 deficit to cut the Indians' advantage to 12-6 at the end of the opening frame on a successful drive to the hoop and a long two-point jumper by senior forward Kendrick Simelton on successive offensive possessions near the end of the first quarter.
The 'Birds continued to scrap in the second quarter, hitting the offensive glass and turning three missed shots into points on putbacks by Simelton, senior Preston Filkins and junior Nathan Butler. Senior guard Kyle Weeks brought West Frankfort within four points of the Indians with 3:30 remaining in the quarter, and the Redbirds were down a manageable six points at the halftime intermission.
The Indians quickly took control of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, rattling off a 16-2 scoring run over the first 6:30 of the third quarter and claiming a 39-22 lead at the end of the third en route to their 51-30 win.
"We had not played our best basketball in the first half and were only down six points, so we were happy going into the half," said FCHS varsity basketball head coach Kevin Toney.
"In the second half, Du Quoin's strength and athleticism took over and some of those loose balls we were getting to in the first half, they were now getting."
After the Redbirds took a 12-9 rebounding edge into halftime, Du Quoin took command of the glass in the second half, rallying to tie the rebound count for the game. However, Redbird head coach Kevin Toney said his squads' 28 turnovers could have been the game's deciding factor.
"We are going to have to get better at our court awareness," said Toney of his team's turnover troubles. "We can't simulate other teams' quickness in practice. No practice squad is going to be as quick as another school's varsity. We really didn't understand exactly how quick Du Quoin was going to be.
The Redbirds' will have two shots to break into the win column this weekend, hosting the rival Benton Rangers on Friday, followed by a trip to Johnston City Saturday night.
FCHS 6 17 22 30
DQHS 12 23 39 51
Simelton 5 1 2 1 -14
Butler 1 0 4 3 -5
Weeks 1 1 0 0 -5
