By MATT SCHUCKMAN

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

A few heads turned when Bartonville Limestone point guard Donivine Stewart ventured into the Quincy High School boys basketball team's locker room Friday night.

Stewart needed a trainer to cut the tape off his ankles, and the only one around was helping the Blue Devils ice down after their 68-46 victory in the 39th annual QHS Thanksgiving Tournament.

So he unassumingly walked in, took a seat atop a water cooler and waited for the trainer to snip away the tape. While that was happening, Quincy point guard Isaiah Johnson walked over, shook Stewart's hand and muttered just two words.

"Good game," he said, having watched Stewart score 28 points in Limestone's 66-52 victory over St. Louis Normandy.

It was also a reminder of what Stewart must contend with in tonight's championship game, which features a pair of 2-0 teams for the first time since 2003.

"I don't think there is a guard quicker in the state of Illinois than Isaiah Johnson," Quincy guard Zach Forbes said.

"I honestly don't think there is. He's going to have trouble getting around him. Once Isaiah gets tired, we can put Robert (Gay) on him, we can put (Alex VonderHaar) on him, we can put me on him.

"We're going to make him earn his points."

Stewart, the most valuable player in last year's tournament, has done a quality job of that. Through two games, he's scored 65 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter Friday night when Limestone outscored Normandy 25-14.

"Both Stewart and (Limestone's Tyler Ashby) can really handle it," Quincy coach Sean Taylor said. "They're seasoned. They know how to play. They're really good. I think it's going to be a great early season challenge and a great championship game."

And another chance for the Blue Devils to showcase their defensive pursuits.

Quincy (2-0) took Jacobs out of the game at the start by not allowing the Golden Eagles to cross midcourt on their first four possessions. It took more than 2 1/2 minutes for Jacobs to get a shot, nearly four minutes to score and nearly 12 minutes to reach double figures.

The Golden Eagles (0-2) committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter, falling behind 23-6 as the Blue Devils scored 13 points off turnovers.

"We were very active," Quincy forward Robert Gay said. "We work hard and we play hard. I think they got a little intimidated and we had to take advantage of it."

No one seized the moment like Forbes.

Forced to sit out Thursday's season opener because he received a red card in the Blue Devils' final soccer game, Forbes flourished in his debut, scoring seven of Quincy's first 11 points and finishing with a game-high 18 points.

He was 7 of 12 from the field with five rebounds and three steals.

"With the potential this team has, you just want to be out there playing with them," Forbes said. "It's such a fun game. To play here in this gymnasium and in this environment, you just love it."

Balance is a big reason why this team has so much potential. Johnson scored 14 points and VonderHaar added 10, while four different players led Quincy in rebounding with five boards apiece and 10 different players grabbed rebounds.

Seven players had at least one of Quincy's 17 steals as Jacobs committed 31 turnovers and shot 41.6 percent from the field.

"We need to keep the throttle on for four quarters," Taylor said. "When we do that, we can be pretty good."

The Blue Devils don't expect to let up tonight.

"We want to protect our home," Gay said. "They have some tough guys. Stewart's very, very good, but we're going to come out like a ball of fire like we did against Jacobs."

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366