ALTON - The time for a basketball team to reach its pinnacle in the season is post-season and that appears what the Alton Redbirds are doing this year under head coach Eric Smith.
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The Redbirds played with a will to win on Friday night against a top-notch Quincy team and knocked off the Blue Devils 66-62 in the Alton Regional. The Redbirds, 15-10, face 25-4 Edwardsville at 7 tonight at Collinsville.
Speaking of being ready for the post-season, Alton’s Maurice Edwards was on fire on offense last Friday, scoring a game-high 24 points and playing just as strong on defense to help upend Quincy.
“The kids competed and battled all the way to the end against Quincy,” Smith said. “We just kept grinding and just buckled down and did a nice job from the first quarter on. Maurice Edwards played very well offensively and defensively against Quincy.”
Smith said Edwards will be a key tonight against Edwardsville, an arch-rival.
“We have seen Edwardsville quite a bit in regional finals and sectional games and it is always a battle,” Smith said. “It will be a wild atmosphere and fun game for our kids.”
The coach said the key for the Redbirds is they have to stick to their game plan.
“They (Edwardsville) are pretty deliberate and patient,” he said. “Edwardsville has some kids that do things really well. Obviously the (A.J.) Epenesa kid is somebody we have to pay attention to; he is tough and controls a lot of things that go on inside. Mark Smith always plays well.”
Smith has the utmost of respect for Coach Mike Waldo and said the Tigers will be prepared for the battle tonight. Each year, Smith said Coach Waldo gets his players to buy in to his system and that always impresses him.
Smith said winning a regional title over Quincy in a word is “special.”
“We told our kids whether they have won 25 games or five, winning a regional is a credit to them,” he said. “There are a lot of teams that had really good records that didn’t win a regional. We had some ups and downs, but nobody expected us to win the regional. We now have just as much confidence as anyone else.”
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