ALTON – When it comes to the postseason – especially basketball – one saying proves to be more true than anything else.
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It's simple:
Survive and Advance.
Alton did just that in their IHSA Class 4A Alton Regional semifinal match against Chatham Glenwood Wednesday night, despite holding a 12-9 lead at quarter time; the Titans took advantage of some Redbird miscues and built a small lead that lasted almost the rest of the way.
Operative word: almost.
That was because Maurice Edwards stepped up and made a play down the stretch – like at the buzzer, lifting a floater from the paint that went right through the basket as the buzzer sounded, giving the Redbirds a 46-45 win over the Titans that advanced them into Friday night's title contest against Quincy; that game begins at 7 p.m., with the winner taking on the Edwardsville-Belleville East winner from Friday's East St. Louis Regional final in a Collinsville Sectional semifinal clash, set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
It almost didn't happen though. “We just kept shooting threes (rather than try to get the ball inside for shots); we've been down this road before,” said Redbird coach Eric Smith. “That's just not us. We can make a couple or every once in a while, through the flow of our offense, we get to the paint, a drive, a touch and a kick, but just coming on the floor and just putting up 22-footers is just not good for us; it's a recipe for disaster. We just got lucky.”
Edwards is the kind of player that can create headaches for pretty much every team the Redbirds play, and Titan coach Todd Blakeman knew it going in. “He goes so hard,” Blakeman said. “I thought two or three times, we were right there; he's so forceful as he goes right through there, you just have go try to get down and stay in front. Like I said, we did that most of the night; he just hit some tough shots.”
The Titans never led by more than six points at any point in the game; the Redbirds made a run in the final quarter and cut the lead to one, even taking a one-point lead a couple of times before the Titans would bounce back and get a key basket. With 9.1 seconds left, Edwards drove to the basket and cut the lead to 45-44 before Kevin Caldwell was whistled for a foul without time running off the clock when play was about to resume after a Redbird timeout. Joel Alexander missed the front end of a one-and-one and Alton got the rebound and charged upcourt.
Play of the Game - Alton vs Chatham IHSA Boys Playoff Basketball Watch the entire game here: https://t.co/nVmTQq6i93 pic.twitter.com/nwPr40ygYC — RiverBender.com (@RiverBenderNews) March 3, 2016
During the timeout after Edwards' basket that cut it to one, Smith had called a play, but it broke down in the rush upcourt. “We called a play and we didn't get to where we were supposed to be,” Smith said. “Maurice just made a play.”
“The play broke down; the screen wasn't set up, so I had to make something out of nothing,” Edwards said of his game-winner. “Taking big shots, I'm used to it, the type of player I am, being aggressive.”
Edwards wound up with 19 points on the night, with Caldwell adding eight and Marcus Latham seven. The Titans were led by Alexander's 19, with Parker Allen adding eight and Matt Bahlmann seven.
The Redbirds went to 14-10 on the year, with the Titans being eliminated at 18-11. And with the Blue Devils, who eliminated Granite City Tuesday night, awaiting, Smith knows what the Redbirds have to do.
“We've got to be stubborn,” Smith said. “They're gonna ball-press us, they're gong to run a 1-2-2 (offense); they're gonna try to control (the pace). We've got to do a better job of making sure we get touches inside the paint.”
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