QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (1-4) fell in a competitive 67-47 game at home to the Grandview Greyhounds on Saturday. Head coach Scott Bierlink said his players competed against the Greyhounds but dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of.   

“We came out of the gate a little bit slow and kind of dug ourselves a hole in that first half,” Scott said. “(We) came out after halftime, played much better. Played them even basically in the second half. But we're not talented enough to dig a hole like that and get out of it.”  

The Jacks fell behind early after a fast start by the Greyhounds in the first quarter. Down 19-10, Quincy only managed to put up four points in the second quarter. At halftime, they trailed 33-14. After a couple of shots by Pierce Bierlink, the Jacks found a spark of momentum and outscored Grandview 17-14 in the third quarter. However, the Greyhounds rebounded in the fourth quarter by scoring 20 points to secure their win.   

“Pierce hit a couple of shots, and I think he gave us a little confidence. We just dug too big of a hole. I think we got (the deficit) down to 13, maybe even 10 at one point in the second half, but we just didn't have enough firepower to come back,” Scott said.   

In the first quarter, Grandview utilized its height advantage to find scores inside to jump out to a 19-10 lead over Quincy heading into the second. The Greyhounds were able to hold the Jacks to four points in the second quarter while putting up 14 of their own off of some key scores from the perimeter by their guard Deontae Howard.   

Coach Scott said Howard was a name they circled in their preparation for this game, but he still managed to do some damage.   

“He hit six threes, and so he hit some outside shots, (and) we kind of had to extend our defense to try to guard him. We did a poor job on him. We didn't make him work very hard to get those three points,” he said.   

At halftime, Grandview led Quincy 33-14. Scott delivered an encouraging message at halftime, he said. He loved the energy and effort the Jacks brought to the court, however, they would need to make a few stops to make a run in the second half.   

Quincy came out swinging in the third quarter. The Jacks were able to cut the deficit to 10 points, the coach said. However, Grandview rallied off enough scores to make it 47-31 heading into the fourth quarter.   

Though the Jacks’ offense remained productive in the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds erupted for 20 points to widen the gap on the scoreboard and secure the win. While Quincy was able to improve defensively in the third quarter, the deficit proved too steep to overcome.   

“Our defense played really well. We just couldn't quite string together enough scoring there to really dent that lead,” Scott said. “When you dig a hole, it takes a lot of energy to be able to get stops and rebounds and then you’ve got to score on the other end. That takes a lot of energy to dig out of that hole. We just ran out of time.”   

Despite the loss, Quincy came out of the game with a confidence boost, the coach said. They see Grandview as one of the top teams in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. With how they responded in the second half, they discovered a newfound confidence that they can compete with top teams in the CWAC.   

Scott said if they can clean up the turnovers and improve on the rebounding, the outcome may look a little different when they meet again later this season.   

“The message was positive after the game, even though we lost by 20. We're going to try to build off some of the positive things we did,” he said.   

Scott remains optimistic that his team can build off each game and improve as the season unfolds. Some of his roster is on the younger side, so implementing better ball control can come through the drills they run in practice. Ultimately, it will just come with time and maturity on the court, he said.   

The Jacks return to the court to host the Selah Vikings at 7 p.m. Dec. 16. Scott said they also have their rivalry game against Ephrata on Dec. 19 circled on their calendar as they try to turn their season around.   

“We haven't even come close to playing our best ball,” Scott said. “We're really talking about identity. These kids need to figure out what their identity. What is it? We need to be able to have identity as players and as a team and hang our hat on some of these things.”   

BOX SCORE:   

GRVW: 19-14-14-20: 67
QNCY: 10-4-17-16: 47 

    The Jacks’ Jesus Armando Carillo (23) shoots a free throw during their game against Grandview. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said his team showed a lot of effort in the second half.
  

    Erick Zepeda (3) drives the ball inside toward the basket with a Grandview defender pressuring him. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said he believes his team can compete with the league's best if they can clean up some of their errors.
  

    Pierce Bierlink (1) guards a Grandview player on defense during their game Saturday. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said the Jacks improved defensively in the second half.