Sparked by two three-pointers from Andre White late in the first quarter Wednesday, Zion-Benton went on to defeat the host Rangers 82-72 in the Mather tournament.
Mather (4-1) led for the majority of the first quarter, but White’s consecutive threes put the Zee-Bees (5-0) up 18-14 and they never trailed again.
“We hit a few shots at the right time and got some confidence,” Zee-Bees coach Don Kloth said.
White finished with a game-high 29 points.
Quincy coach suspended: The coach of the Quincy boys basketball team has been suspended for a year and an athlete declared ineligible by the Illinois High School Association because of a recruiting violation.
Loren Wallace violated the IHSA’s recruiting rules when he met Aug. 19 with Brooks Allen before the student’s transfer from Pittsfield High School, the organization announced Wednesday on its Web site.
The junior guard has been ruled permanently ineligible to participate in interscholastic activities at Quincy. The IHSA also put the school on probation for a year.
Quincy finished third in the Class AA state tournament in 1998 under Wallace, who has more than 600 career wins and has gone 255-83 since he began coaching the Blue Devils in 1990.
Jose Quintero was named interim head coach.