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EAST ST. LOUIS – Edwardsville looked to be in control of their IHSA Class 4A East St. Louis Regional final against Belleville East Friday night.
The Lancers, however, went on a big run – an 11-point run that saw the Lancers, who had trailed 47-30 at one point, suddenly get well within striking distance of the Tigers at 47-41.
The run also all but evaporated the Tiger lead, it also wound up costing A.J. Epenesa, who fouled out with eight-tenths of a second left in the third term, and if the Lancers had the Tigers suddenly on the ropes, they knew they needed to find the knockout blow, and quick.
East never could find the right combination as the Tigers steadied and found ways to hold off the Lancers, taking a 67-60 win to go to 25-4 on the year (the Lancers were eliminated at 18-11) and advance to Tuesday's Class 4A Collinsville Sectional semifinal – where Alton, 66-62 shock winners over Quincy in the Alton Regional final Friday, will await them.
The game commences at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fletcher Gym, with the winner facing the East Moline United-Rock Island semifinal winner at 7 p.m. March 11 for a trip to the Normal Supersectional at Illinois State's Redbird Arena. The East Moline-Rock Island semifinal will be played at Normal West at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Tiger coach Mike Waldo – who won his 20th regional title and 598th career game at the helm of the Tigers – knew it wasn't going to be just one player who made a difference, but everyone had a key contribution as the game wore on. “I thought Chrys Colley had a great game defensively, and I thought Mark (Smith) made a lot of great plays for us. Mark did a great job as the lead guard.”
One player Waldo cited was reserve sophomore guard Jack Marinko, who stepped in after Sammy Green fouled out with 2:20 left in regulation; he had a key play when, trapped by the Lancer defense, maintained his dribble and got the ball to Colley, who got inside and scored while drawing a foul that allowed him to finish a three-point play to give Edwardsville some breathing room with 1:43 left.
“Jack's a good player; he's got a lot of skill and he can shoot,” Waldo said. “He's practiced a lot with us and he made some plays for us.”
The Tigers knew Friday's assignment wouldn't be an easy one, even though they'd defeated the Lancers twice on the year in going unbeaten in the Southwestern Conference. “It's tough to beat a team three times in a row,” Colley said. “We came into the game a lot focused because they (East) made it this far for a reason. It was a hard-fought game, all four quarters, and we had to fight because we knew they weren't going to back down.
“We had to keep focused, stick to the game plan coach Waldo gave us and we executed it.”
“It was one of those games we felt really good about,” said Lancer coach Abel Schrader. “We really wanted a chance to win the fourth quarter; that's what I told the kids at the start, and we had that chance. Edwardsville's a very good team; we're proud of our kids for the effort in the second half.
“I don't know how many turnovers we created in the second half, but we created some havoc; we got some possessions back from them. We made some play for ourselves by attacking the glass and making some shots.”
Smith led all scorers on the night with a 28-point effort, with Oliver Stephen adding 12 and Colley 10; Epenesa fouled out after having scored nine points. The Lancers were led by Javon Pickett's 16 points, with Malachi Smith adding 11 and EnRico Sylvester and Jalen Jones each scoring nine.
So now, Alton awaits Edwardsville, this time in the Round of 32 (the sectional semifinals), and Waldo is expecting a very difficult matchup. “They're hard to play against,” Waldo said. “Us and Alton have had a lot of good games; it's a good rivalry. We'll just try to prepare and do the best we can.”
SEE VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH COACH WALDO BELOW:
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