By MATT SCHUCKMAN

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

Quincy High School boys basketball coach Sean Taylor isn't the only one who feels the Blue Devils are close to reaching their potential.

The players sense it, too.

"You never know who is going to come up with the big offensive night or the big defensive night," senior forward Shawn Blakeman said after Quincy's 59-47 victory Friday night over Rock Island. "We're well-rounded right now. You can tell we're playing well."

It's made back-to-back Western Big Six Conference titles a definite possibility.

Quincy (12-8, 7-1 WB6) remained a game in front of East Moline (13-10, 5-2) in the league standings, needing to win just one of its final two WB6 games to share the title. A victory next week at East Moline, though, would guarantee Quincy's 12th outright championship.

"I really like the way our guys have prepared themselves all year mentally and physically, and it's paying off," Taylor said.

The Blue Devils saw huge dividends in the first quarter Friday night.

Quincy held Rock Island to 2-of-12 shooting, fueling a 9-0 run that allowed the Blue Devils to build a 15-4 lead. The Rocks, who never led, only whittled the deficit to eight, and that wasn't until 42.8 seconds remained in the first half.

"We've pulled that before and found a way to win," Rock Island coach Thom Sigel said of the poor first-quarter shooting. "But when we've done that, we've defended."

This time, they didn't.

Quincy shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half (14 of 27) by attacking the heart of Rocky's defense. The Blue Devils hit four jumpers in the lane and eight shots within 5 feet of the basket.

"I thought defensively we were poor most of the first half," Sigel said. "Guys that have gotten up and guarded people for most of the year were getting beat in the lane."

That's something we drill since day one. Defensively, it was frustrating."

Part of that was because Quincy never buckled. The Blue Devils committed just four turnovers and failed to score on back-to-back possessions only three times in the first half.

"When Rocky gets behind, they get a little aggravated and they try to get in your face a little bit," said Blakeman, who finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists. "They came real hard at us in the second quarter, really turned it up. We made a few adjustments and were strong with the ball."

It enabled Quincy to outrebound Rocky 31-25, commit just nine turnovers and shoot 55.8 percent from the field (24 of 43). Jordan Witte led Quincy with 17 points, going 6 of 6 from the line, while Zach Forbes added 10 points.

Yet, it was the poise of junior guard Demeique Humphrey set the tone. He finished five points, three rebounds and three assists and handled Rocky's pressure like a veteran.

"Didn't he make plays," Taylor said. "Obviosuly, he got it to the gut and got some layups for himself. But he created opportunities for Mitchel (Rein) and Jordan to get open shots. That's what you need to do. You need to make plays and make decisions when you get there. His basketball IQ is hot."

He did a smart thing in the fourth quarter -- getting the ball in the hands of Quincy's three seniors. Blakeman scored seven points, Witte went 4 for 4 from the line and Rein grabbed four rebounds, sealing the 10th straight home WB6 victory.

"Our seniors, you can't be more proud of them," Taylor said. "Guts and determination and sheer will, you just can't beat those three."

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366