What a difference a season makes. The Du Quoin boys basketball team limped to the finish of the regular season mired in an eight-game losing streak and had the unenviable task of facing one of the top teams in the Black Diamond West Conference Monday night in Murphysboro.
The Indians came into the postseason with an 8-20 record overall and dead last in the SIRR Mississippi Division while Chester the Yellow Jackets came in with a 20-8 record and second in the conference at 9-3.
"We practiced Saturday and about an hour and a half on Sunday to just talk about Chester," said Du Quoin coach Jason James.
As the saying goes, "Everyone starts the playoffs 0-0," and the Indians were a perfect example.
"This season it seems things work for every other team, so tonight I'm glad it went the other way it worked for us," James said.
When the crowd was gone and the hoopla was over the Indians had won its opening playoff game for the first time since 2017 and the third time since 2013.
"It was nice to be able to smile before the game was over," James said. "The kids started the fourth quarter high-fiving each other and we hadn't seen that probably all year. They're on the bench talking to each other about setting screens and who they are defending. That's what you are looking for."
A foreshadowing of something different things to come was when the starting lineup was announced to the famous Red Devils light show -- with only 6-3 senior Braeden Pursell and 6-1 junior Wade Roberson in their normal positions. Instead of three seniors, three sophomores -- 6-6 forward Maurice Washington and 5-10 guards Jaden and Trajion Smith -- joined the upperclassmen at center court.
"We've been talking for the last week and a half about maybe going bigger with those sophomores joining a junior and a senior," James said. "I thought Maurice played great. I thought the two Smiths got after it in the zone and took care of the basketball. I'm proud of the kids stepping up after just two days of practice and taking on the starting jobs."
Jake Prather came off the bench to lead the Indians with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, and Pursell finished with 11 followed by seven points each by Roberson and Kadin Mays, Washington with six and three points by Jaden Smith.
"Tonight was the most Maurice and Prather have played in a game all season," James said. "Prather throughout the year we had subbed in to get a shot off here and there and 'Mo' we hadn't played a ton, but they got the job done."
For the game the Indians shot the eyes out of the basket making 19-of-34 (. 559) overall, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
"The thing of getting the ball inside is finding Prather, who our best outside shooter, knocking down a couple 3's to extend the lead," James said. "This was the first time we ran sets and got layups. It was just doing the little things right. It was awesome."
Defensively the new lineup held the Yellow Jackets to just 14-of-39 (. 359) and 3-of-10 from the outside. Deondre Martin was held to 13 points and Ian Reith 10.
"The point of going bigger was defense," James said. "By putting a 6-6, 240 pound kid in the middle we could bring Pursell out with his wide arms and do the same thing with Wade, a lanky guy, and try to control rebounds. We've been out rebounded all year long, (but here was) Maurice on free throws getting the rebound and putting it back in. I thought we did a great job on the high-low catching and finding the guy. We wanted to find Reith and we ran 'Mo' at him."
The Indians won the rebound battle 25-19 with Roberson and Washington the leaders with nine and eight, respectively. Pursell finished with five.
The Indians took a 7-4 lead into the second quarter. Normally, the Indians have faltered in the second quarter, but on Monday the second quarter was where Du Quoin won the game.
Prather got the quarter going from under the basket and Pursell kept it going with a pullup jumper and a three-point play on a layup and a free throw. That was followed by a jumper from the lane by Mays to open a 10-point lead with 2:38 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Jaden Smith followed by Pursell putting back his own missed shot extended the lead to 13 with 1:45 left. The second from beyond the arc by Prather extended the lead to 14 with 39 seconds remaining and after Chester missed two free throws Prather scored at the buzzer on a rebound from a missed 3-pointer to give the Indians a 16-point lead at the half.
In the first half the Indians shot 11-of-17 from field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Chester was held to just 10 points in the first half on just nine shot attempts making four without attempting a 3-pointer. The Yellowjackets were just 2-of-5 from the line.
Chester cut the lead to 14 after the third quarter and shaved it to 10 points with 3:45 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Jared Landeros, but Mays and Washington combined to extend the lead back to 13 when Mays was fouled and made his first free throw. He missed his second, but Washington grabbed the rebound and scored.
In the final 2:23 the Indians missed 11-of-14 at the line to give the Yellow Jackets a chance for a comeback, but Chester missed its last five shots, including three from beyond the arc, and made just 2-of-5 from line to end their season.
Murphy 58; DQ 48
Du Quoin's season ended two days later in the semifinals against Murphysboro. The Indians took a 4-0 lead, but the Red Devils went on a 7-0 run and the Indians never led again.
The Red Devils led 10-6 after the first period and 26-18 at the half. Murphysboro scored the first 14 points in the third quarter to take a 22-point lead with 3:47 remaining.
The never-say-die Indians closed out the game with a 30-19 run that included two 3-pointers by Pursell, to cut the lead to six with 43.4 seconds left in the game, but that was as close as they would get.
"I knew we weren't going to give up," Pursell said. "It was the seniors' last run and the sophomores and juniors weren't going to give up for us. I knew we all wanted to win. After seeing that in the locker room I know nobody wanted to go home tonight."
Pursell led the Indians in scoring with 14 points and rebounding with eight with Mays adding 12 points in their last Du Quoin basketball game. Roberson finished with 10 points and Washington with eight points and six rebounds.
The other five seniors playing their last game were Wendell Killian, Nathan Riley, Dasani Edward, Jason Whitfield and Jacob Green.
"We couldn't quit," James said. "When they got that lead they could have hung their heads, but instead they kept going. If we don't give up that stretch to start the third quarter then who knows what might have happened. I'm proud of the kids."
