EDWARDSVILLE - A 10-0 run late in the first half by Madison was the difference in the game as the Trojans went on to defeat Metro-East Lutheran 62-50 in a Prairie State Conference game played Tuesday night at Thomas A. Hooks Gym in Edwardsville.
The Knights had gotten off to a good start and led 23-22 in the second quarter before Madison scored the final 10 points of the half, and extended the lead in the second half by as much as 14, but the Knights did come to within nine in the fourth quarter, but couldn't come any closer.
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"It just got to the point where they outscored us 16-7 in that second quarter," said Metro-East head coach Anthony Smith, "and we made some careless turnovers, we didn't handle the pressure well. It is what it is, we've just got to get better with pressure."
Junior forward A.J. Smith led the Knights with 27 points, but Metro-East missed many opportunities to score during the game, including shots from close in.
"I think there were opportunities for other to chime in," Smith said. "We were 11-for-32 from the field, and I don't think A.J. had all 32 of those, so some of those came from missed shots or missed lay-ups, but we were 11-for-32 from two-point; we've got to be better."
Despite falling behind at halftime, the Knights hung in there and competed well in the second half, but again, the second quarter run was the game's deciding factor.
"I thought second half, we competed, we handled the pressure much better," Smith said, "We pounded the ball inside, we took good shots at it. I just think that second quarter, when they went on that run, we just never neutralized it and couldn't get back out of that 10-point deficit, and we were just kind of fighting uphill most of the game after that."
As usual, the Knights played hard for the entire 32 minutes, and Smith is very happy with the effort.
"We always play hard; I've never said that," Smith said. "They always play hard, they always give me great effort. Is it productive all the time? I don't know. So at some point in time, we have to just be better. We've just got to continue to get better. I didn't think we played a bad game, it's just pocket hit-and-miss things there that we should have capitalized on, but we'll see when we get down the road,"
Smith started out on the right foot for the Knights by scoring seven of the game's first 10 points, on a three and a pair of inside shots that gave the Knights an early 7-3 lead, then Chris Chipman hit on a three to increase the lead to 10-3. Back-to-back threes from Walter Bursey and Javonnie Moore cut the lead to 10-9. but a Chipman steal and score gave the Knights a 12-9 lead, forcing a Madison time out. After the time out, a basket from Jalen Moore cut the lead again to 12-11, but a three from Cam Gusewelle gave the Knights a 15-11 lead. Madison then scored the last six points of the period, on a pair of free throws and basket from Jalen Moore and a steal and score from Deangelo Enlow, Jr. to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the period.
A Smith free throw at the start of the second period tied things up at 17-17. but a Jalen Moore dunk and basket in the lane, sandwiched around another Smith free throw, made the score 21-18. A Moore free throw increased the lead to four, after which another three from Gusewelle and a pair of free throws from Smith gave the Knights the lead back at 23-22. The Trojans then went on their 10-0 run as Eric Hurst, Jr. scored three baskets during the run, Enlow was credited with a basket on a goaltending call and Bursey hit in the lane to give the Trojans as 32-23 lead at halftime.
Smith scored the first basket of the second half, but Madison countered with a pair of baskets from Moore to make it 37-25. A Smith three-point play cut the lead to 37-28, and again, the Trojans countered with a Moore three and basket to make it 42-28. The two teams then exchanged baskets and free throws that made the score 46-34 Madison after the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Knights got the ball on a five-second count violation against the Trojans, but couldn't take advantage of it, as the teams again exchanged baskets to open the period. Another three-point play from Smith cut the Madison lead to 48-39, and another Smith free throw further cut the lead to 48-40, but Moore hit a three to bring the lead back to 51-40. From there, the teams exchanged baskets most of the way, with Metro-East getting no closer than nine points as the Trojans won 62-50.
Besides Smith, Chipman scored nine points, Gusewelle eight, and both Zaire Woody and Adam Sahuri each had three points. The Trojans were led by Jalen Moore's 22 points, with Bursey adding 15, Javonnie Moore nine, and both Hurst and Enlow eight points each.
The Knights are now 11-14 and have 10 days off before winding up the regular season, starting with a game at Woodlawn Feb. 14, with a game at Riverton Feb. 15, then playing their final two regular season games at home Feb. 18 against East Alton-Wood River and the team's annual Senior Night game Feb. 20 against Mt. Olive. The IHSA Class 1A playoffs will be starting soon, and Smith has very ambitious goals for the Knights in the postseason.
"We're hoping there to come out of there on top," Smith said. "So we need to win the regional, win the sectional, and then win the super and get to state. That's our goal."
