Quincy holds off Ephrata for win

QUINCY — The Jacks built an early lead, then held off a late comeback attempt to earn a 52-43 victory over Ephrata Thursday night.

Ephrata clawed back from a 13-point deficit to tie the game at 39 on a Daniel Simon 3-pointer at the 4:17 mark of the fourth quarter. With the game tied and less than four minutes to play, Quincy went inside to Charlie Cedergreen, who scored a basket with 3:20 remaining and picked up a free throw on the play to give the Jacks a 42-39 lead.

With two minutes remaining, Quincy's Raymond Evenson hit a jumper just below the free-throw line to extend the lead to five.

When Ephrata failed to score on its next possession, they were forced to begin fouling with 1:30 left on the clock.

While Noe Guzman scored two buckets in the next 30 seconds for the Tigers, Quincy hit 5 of 6 free-throw shots during the span to extend its lead.

Ephrata missed several 3-point attempts in the final minute, and Quincy picked up a few more free throws to set the final margin of victory.

Throughout the night, missed shots were a problem for Ephrata.

"We missed some open looks early, and it continued through the night," said Ephrata coach Brandon Evenson.

Much of Ephrata's shooting woes can be attributed to Quincy's defensive effort.

"When five guys work together as one, it makes it really tough to score," said Quincy coach Wade Petersen. "Even the baskets they got were tough ones."

Quincy took advantage of Ephrata's early misses to build an 18-5 second quarter lead. Throughout the game, Quincy dictated the tempo of play by methodically running their half-court offense until they found the shot they wanted.

"We told them if they be patient and get good shots, they have the best chance of making them," Petersen remarked.

Ephrata, which prefers to run the floor and score off the fast break, was unable to do so against the Jacks.

"If we would have hit shots early, we could have forced the issue," said Evenson.

Ephrata did find a few chances to run the floor when its defense picked up the tempo.

A steal and fast-break layup by Simon near the end of the first half helped bring the Tigers to within five points of Quincy.

Late in the third quarter, Ephrata turned two consecutive Reid Forrest steals into a pair of baskets. The second bucket, which Forrest converted himself, brought Ephrata to within six at 34-28 with 1:45 left in the third.

Quincy, however, continued to execute its game plan successfully, much to the satisfaction of their coach.

"The kids make it happen on the court," Petersen said. "You can draw the X's and the O's, but they deserve the credit for their efforts."

"Its fun to see the kids work hard and get rewarded for it," added Petersen.

Quincy's starting five not only worked hard, they worked long as well. Starters Cedergreen, Evenson, Cade Kiehn, Zac Bishop played the full 32 minutes. Jay Knodell, Quincy's other starter, played for all but 14 seconds of the game.

"Give Quincy credit," said Evenson. "They came out and played hard, and we didn't match that."

Cedergreen led all scorers with 23 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds for the Jacks. Kiehn had 10 points for Quincy, and Bishop added eight points.

For Ephrata, Forrest led with 16 points, followed by Simon's 12 points. Guzman had eight points and six rebounds for the Tigers, and Aaron Lutz recorded six assists.