COLLINSVILLE – Edwardsville senior basketball guard Malik Robinson had another great game for the Tigers, scoring 20 points and contributing key baskets down the stretch as the Tigers broke a five game losing string by defeating Quincy 59-56 in the first round of the 35th Prairie Farms Collinsville Holiday Basketball Classic Thursday morning at Vergil Fletcher Gym.
“Yeah, it feels good,” Robinson said in a postgame interview after the win that took the Tigers’ record to 3-6 on the season.
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The team’s mood going into the game was one of coming out with intensity and playing at a fast pace to set the tone.
“We were just trying to come out with a lot of intensity,” Robinson said, “playing fast, getting up and down the court and get a bunch of shots up.”
The game plan worked very well, as Edwardsville was able to hit many open shots and their free throws down the stretch in order to gain the win over the Blue Devils.
“Yeah, it feels good,” Robinson said. “I think it’s really good for us, because we’ve been working really hard at practice every day over Christmas break, and I think it’s good at this point in the season to get this win.”
And the Tigers showed a lot of resiliency during the stretch run, which bodes well for the team as the tournament – and season – progresses.
“Yeah, I think this will be a good motivator and it’ll energize us for the next game,” Robinson said.
Which will be defending tournament champion Springfield Southeast Friday morning at 9 a.m. in the quarterfinals. The Spartans trounced Oakville of South St. Louis County 97-47 in the tournament’s opening game before the Blue Devils-Tigers tilt, and Robinson expects Edwardsville to come out against Southeast the same way as it did against Quincy.
“We’re just going to play the same way, with a lot of energy, a lot of intensity,” Robinson said, “and just try to get as many baskets as we can going into the game.”
And as far as the rest of the tournament?
“Just keep on plugging away, yep,” Robinson said with a smile.
As far as the remainder of the tournament, which goes through Saturday night, Robinson has simple goals for himself and the Tigers.
“We’re just going to try to do our best to put ourselves in a position to win every game we can,” Robinson said.
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