The divided defense: Cedarville clinches tight victory over Quincy

By Danielle Cherry 

Cedarville divided its defensive play into two halves Friday night. The Yellow Jackets used a shut-down defense in the first half to build a 20-point lead and an ability to put down a comeback in the second half to defeat Quincy 78-72 in the first day of the Midwest Region crossover. 

Defense was the strategic point throughout the entire game against the Hawks. With no points on the board two minutes in, the speed and physicality from Quincy was an almost equal match to the Jackets’ own ferocity. 

No shots landed as both teams guarded tightly and were quick between the lines to pick up any straggling balls. Both teams clearly had an awareness of the other from the strategic scout that took place before this match up. 

For Will Gibson, the knowledge of Quincy’s defensive aggression came from a constant drive straight to the hole. Still, Gibson scored 13 points in the half despite the basket being blocked by the bodies berating him. And the Jackets, after a 19-6 start, led 39-19 at halftime

“We got off to a good start, and played really well in the first half,” said head coach Rob Jones. “I thought our defensive energy was kind of key behind it.”

As fighting Quincy’s defense became a struggle, Cedarville doubled down on its own defense, swapping between a man and a three-two zone. The continuous switch kept Quincy searching for open lines to drive the ball, with none being found. 

Jordan Jonathan, who scored 12 points, jumped the lines intercepting passes to get a clean breakaway. 

“It’s a testament to my teammates,” Jonathan said. “They’re really important to me on the court, [they] keep me in a positive self-talk, a positive mindset and just help me have a level day.”

Jonathan’s composed play brought the atmosphere of the game up, being a vocal leader on the court. He called the plays, being the mediator between the coach and the rest of the team on the court — and that communication was vital in the first, giving the Jackets an early lead. 

“We know if someone’s hot,” Jonathan said. “Jonathan Whiteside and Will were getting theirs down low, so we knew just to feed it into them, and that just opened up the game for us.”

Lighting up the court, freshman Elijah McCree continues to amaze, bringing an unbridled talent to the Jackets’ offense. Popping off four from 3-point range and 19 overall, McCree brings a quiet confidence onto the court two games into his college career. 

“You can see in ball-screen scenarios, he’s just got a really good change of speed and he has the ability to make hard shots as well,” Jones said. 

McCree, while talented, is a team player, recognizing the offensive skill of big hitters Jaylen Davis with 17 points and Whiteside with 10. With good looks to the inside, McCree’s speed around the defense allowed for great passing opportunities on the block.  

With a 20-point halftime lead, Cedarville came out in the second with a little less fight, and Quincy took advantage. Fighting for layups, Quincy drew the fouls racking up points on the line and causing a break in the Jackets’ otherwise clean defensive line in the first. 

“A big part of how [Quincy] got back in the game was our turnovers,” Jones said “We had to take care of the basketball.”

Passing became sloppier as time wore on, with balls being fumbled and being intercepted from Quincy. As the Jackets continued to switch up their defense to mitigate the gap, Qunicy was closing communication slippage, making it difficult to follow the defense being called. 

“Defensively we had a couple of miscuses along the way,” Jones said. “I think our communication has got to grow and [Quincy] got a couple that were just too easy and helped with their momentum.”

Turnovers turned into fouls and fouls turned into a decreasing lead, with the clock on 26 seconds and the gap being only five points away. 

“When the defense is away from the bench it’s harder to communicate, but we can’t switch our bench in the second half so we will make sure and grow in that way in our communication,” Jones said. 

Even though Qunicy closed the gap, the Jackets withstood the pressure as the clock continued to tick down, playing a cleaner game in the last 10 seconds than the rest of the second half. With Cedarville having only played two games, their fight against Quincy is a good lesson on what needs to be prioritized for the Jackets before their conference games. 

With little turnaround time, the Jackets face off against Truman State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Needing good preparation and a good night’s sleep, the Jackets know what needs to change. 

Danielle Cherry is a junior communication major and is assistant editor and writer for A&E and passionate writer for Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and has never seen so many subs being called in the last 5 seconds of a game — there were at least six or seven…