Takeaways from the third meeting between Galesburg's boys against Sterling
GALESBURG — The Galesburg High School boys basketball team rolled to a 73-48 victory over Sterling on Tuesday night in Western Big 6 Conference action at John Thiel Gym.
The Silver Streaks (19-5, 5-4) held the lead against the Golden Warriors (15-9, 3-6) from the opening tip, and they didn't relinquish it.
Senior post Koen Derry got the scoring going for Galesburg with 7:48 left in the first quarter. Streaks senior Dre Egipciaco followed Derry's bucket with a 3-pointer with 7:15 left in the first, and Galesburg junior Easton Steck found the bottom of the net with 6:39 remaining in the quarter for a 7-0 Streaks advantage.
Galesburg was ahead 24-15 by the time the first quarter was over, and four of the Streaks' starters had scored. Senior Jeremiah Babers is the only one who didn't, and that's because the point guard was focused on getting his teammates opportunities. Babers hit a 3-pointer with 4:18 left in the game for his only points.
Derry and Steck led Galesburg in scoring in the first quarter. They're both starters, and they ended up with eight points each. Six of Steck's points came from beyond the perimeter. Alex and Dre Egipciaco — twin brothers and Galesburg's two other starters — had four points apiece in the first eight minutes.
"I love the way we started that first quarter and mainly because Easton has been in such a slump the last two games," Streaks coach Chad Thompson said. "He came out of the gates firing, and he was so locked in defensively. He was right back to that perimeter defensive specialist that we've all come to love here at Galesburg. He was back to being a perimeter defensive specialist and his 3s were falling. For the start of the game, I love the rhythm Easton got in.
"The whole team aspect, we got three stops in a row early in the game that ended up being three straight buckets," Thompson added. "I just loved the rhythm and flow of the game because we were running with a purpose and at the same time we were passing up good shots for great shots. When you do that on a consistent basis you're going to have success."
Sterling actually outscored Galesburg in the second quarter 12-11, but the Streaks were ahead of the Golden Warriors 35-27 at the half.
Galesburg held a 48-36 lead over Sterling heading into the fourth quarter, and every player listed on the Streaks' roster took the court in the final eight minutes.
Klaver paves way for Sterling early on
Sophomore Andre Klaver set the tone early on for Sterling.
“Andre came out and was aggressive early, and he got some easy buckets but unfortunately we weren’t able to stop Galesburg on the defensive end,” Golden Warriors coach Ryan Vasquez said. “I think they scored on 12 out of their first 13 possessions.”
Klaver, who dons No. 0, netted 13 of the Golden Warriors’ 15 points in the first quarter but the guard was shutdown after that, and he finished with 15 points.
"I didn't like the way we defended him the first quarter," Thompson said of Klaver. "He's a really good player, and we've played Sterling three times now. We're thankful to get out with it 2-1 in our favor but '0' has expanded his game every game. The first time we played them he was just kind of a spot shooter then in Taylorville he was a little more aggressive but now he's putting the ball on the ground. He's moving really well.
"I didn't like how we guarded him. I thought we did a very poor job containing him but from the second quarter on we made our defensive adjustments," Thompson added. "A lot of that goes to Koen playing excellent help side defense. Jeremiah refocused in on him, and when we put Dre on him he got hit with a level of speed which sped his game up a little bit. I think putting Dre on him and making him uncomfortable really hurt (Klaver) offensively because he got him out of his rhythm."
Derry displays his skills, as always
Derry, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, gave up playing football to focus on becoming a better basketball player, and he displayed all of his talents against Sterling.
When Galesburg needed points, Derry's name was called, and he'd flash to the lane, go to work in the paint or put up a shot from 3-point range. It's led to him becoming the Streaks' leading scorer this season.
"Koen, again, is a great player," Thompson said. "Koen is such a versatile player that sometimes he catches himself one-dimensional. He gets stuck inside too long or maybe hangs out on the perimeter too long. He is such a threat from every level. We saw him hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper tonight that I never knew he could shoot. You see him spotting up and hitting 3s and then you see him just punishing the ball inside around the rim, and he's making his free throws now on a consistent basis, as well. He's such a good player.
"We are hard on Koen all the time," Thompson added. "We are constantly in Koen's ear wanting him to get better, wanting him to challenge himself, and we're never going to stop pushing him because of how much we believe in him.
"I just love the way Koen is evolving as a player, and tonight we told him his damage was going to be done inside in the second half and he stepped up and did damage."
By the numbers
Dre Egipciaco chipped in 17 points and had 11 rebounds, and Steck added 13 points for the Streaks.
John Paul Schilling chipped in a dozen points for the Golden Warriors in the defeat.
Around the Western Big 6
Rock Island grabbed a 65-55 home win over United Township. It marked the seventh straight victory for the Rocks (16-6, 8-1).
Quincy routed Alleman 66-33 at Blue Devil Gym. The Blue Devils now hold an 18-4 overall mark and 9-0 record in league play.
Moline went on the road and handed Geneseo a 78-50 loss. With the win, the Maroons moved to 7-2 in the WB6 and 20-3 overall.
Looking ahead
Galesburg has six games left in the regular season and all but one are against a conference foe. On the docket next for the Streaks is a trip to East Moline on Friday for a WB contest against the UT Panthers.
Galesburg will take part in the Manual Shootout on Saturday afternoon, and the Streaks will face the Richwoods Knights.
"Moving forward, we've got to continue to ride this momentum and continue to play well against a zone defense," Thompson said. "UT has a very infamous zone defense ran by Ryan Webber. They're well coached and full of talent on that roster. They can really shoot the ball so we've got to come in loaded and ready to go. We've got to run an excellent offense, and we have to stay confident and guard their sets.
"We take this season a game at a time," Thompson added. "We'll be ready for Richwoods on Saturday when the time comes but we've got to get UT first."
Galesburg's schedule
Wed., Nov. 24: Galesburg 73, Dunlap 64
Fri., Nov. 26: Galesburg 63, Madison 44 (Thanksgiving Tourney)
Sat., Nov. 27: Galesburg 72, Limestone 54 (Thanksgiving Tourney)
Fri., Dec. 3: Moline 77, Galesburg 59
Tue., Dec. 7: Galesburg 65, Sterling 61
Fri., Dec. 10: Galesburg 59, United Township 55
Mon., Dec. 13: Galesburg 57, Peoria Manual 50
Tue., Dec. 14: Galesburg 76, Burlington 66
Fri., Dec. 17: Galesburg 76, Geneseo 46
Sat., Dec. 18: Galesburg 60, Bettendorf (Iowa) 56 at Iowa/Illinois Shootout,
Tue., Dec. 21: Galesburg 70, Kewanee 48
Mon., Dec. 27: Galesburg 63, Decatur Eisenhower 46 at Taylorville Holiday Tourney,
Tue., Dec. 28: Galesburg 76, Mt. Zion 58 at Taylorville Holiday Tourney
Tue., Dec. 28: Galesburg 53 Taylorville 45 at Taylorville Holiday Tourney
Wed., Dec. 29: Sterling 48, Galesburg 47 at Taylorville Holiday Tourney
Wed., Dec. 29: Galesburg 61, Dunlap 58 at Taylorville Holiday Tourney (3rd place game)
Fri., Jan. 7: Galesburg 73, Alleman 32
Tue., Jan. 11: Rock Island 84, Galesburg 63
Fri., Jan. 14: Quincy 55, Galesburg 53
Sat., Jan. 15: Galesburg 57, Gary Comer College Prep 46 (MLK Shoot-out)
Sat., Jan. 15: Galesburg 64, Chicago Orr 57 (MLK Shoot-out)
Tue., Jan. 18: Galesburg 60, Morton 47
Fri., Jan. 21: Moline 76, Galesburg 49
Tue., Jan 25: Galesburg 73, Sterling 48
Fri., Jan. 28 at United Township, 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 29 vs. Richwoods at Manual Shootout, 2:30 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 4 at Geneseo, 7 p.m.
Tue., Feb. 8 vs Rock Island, 7 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 11 vs Alleman, 7 p.m.
Tue., Feb. 15 at Quincy, 7 p.m.
Matthew Wheaton can be reached at (309) 315-6073 or at mwheaton@register-mail.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewlwheaton
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: IHSA Basketball: Silver Streaks boys dominate Golden Warriors from the get-go
