By MATT SCHUCKMAN

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

A week before the season began, Jordan Witte stared into a television camera and said if the Quincy High School boys basketball team played to its potential, defending the Western Big Six Conference title was possible.

Others weren't so sure.

"I went home and thought he was an idiot," teammate Shawn Blakeman said.

As it turned out, Witte knew what he was talking about.

With Witte snapping out of his offensive funk and scoring 18 points Friday night, the Blue Devils wrapped up a share of their WB6-record 18th league championship with a 51-42 victory over Galesburg at Blue Devil Gym.

Quincy (14-10, 8-2 WB6) is co-champion alongside East Moline (16-10, 8-2) after the Panthers won their fifth straight WB6 game with a 57-50 victory at Rock Island. This is the second time the Blue Devils have shared the crown with East Moline -- 1994 was the other -- and their seventh shared title overall.

It's the ninth time they've repeated as champs.

"Coach said, when you bring your kids back, when you come back after college, you always have a part of this gym," Blakeman said. "You're always going to be a part of Blue Devil history. It's just amazing."

So was Quincy's start.

Coming off a three-game stretch in which they scored in double figures in just 2 of 12 quarters, the Blue Devils scored on their first four possessions and built a 16-8 lead. It was their highest-scoring opening quarter of the season as they hit 7 of 13 shots.

The Blue Devils had shot 30.3 percent in the first quarter the previous three games.

"We've said it all along, when we make shots, we're difficult to beat," Quincy coach Sean Taylor said. "Sometimes it doesn't go in, but it doesn't mean we don't play well. When it goes in, it shows how good a team this can be."

Having Witte hit shots makes the Blue Devils even better. The team's leading scorer at 12.5 points per game, Witte had been held to nine points in the last three games, making just 3 of 36 shots and 1 of 16 3-point attempts.

The drought ended after just 2 minutes, 33 seconds Friday night when Witte knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner.

"There was a sense of relief throughout my whole body," Witte said. "Just to hit one, I knew it was going to be a good night."

He finished 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

"His presence, his heart and desire, everything he gives us on the court is really important," Taylor said.

He did it despite suffering a sprained left ankle in practice Thursday.

"I was going to play no matter what," Witte said. "I wasn't going to miss this."

Quincy's defense wasn't absent, either, especially in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by eight going into the fourth quarter, Galesburg (5-20, 2-8) trimmed the deficit to 36-32 in just 55 seconds as Caleb Weaver scored on back-to-back possessions. However, the Silver Streaks wouldn't score for another 5:17, and by then, Quincy was leading 43-32.

"We don't run a play all the way through. We don't execute," Galesburg coach Jeff Houston said. "Quincy stays with what they're doing and gets going toward the hole."

It resulted in open shots when the Blue Devils needed them. Quincy went 9 of 18 from the field and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line in the second half as forward Mitchel Rein scored eight of his 14 points.

"We attacked the basket," Witte said. "And when they doubled, we kicked it out and we hit shots. We did a good job of working the ball around and hitting some shots."

It put a stamp on another historic achievement.

"I can't even tell you I thought we'd get this far," Blakeman said. "To lose just two (WB6) games, that's a major accomplishment."

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366