JACKSONVILLE - Edwardsville won its second game in as many starts on Friday night, surviving a triple-overtime thriller to defeat Jacksonville 50-47 in the Crimson Classic Thanksgiving tournament at the Jacksonville Bowl Friday night
The Tigers trailed the Crimsons 15-14 at the end of the first quarter, but came back to go into the locker room tied at halftime 26-26. Edwardsville then hit a three at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to go-ahead 41-37, but Jacksonville tied things up again early in the fourth at 41-41 as the Tigers ran into foul trouble. Edwardsville went into a delay game for the final 6:41 of the period, holding for the final shot, and got a good one with a short jumper, but it missed to force overtime.
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Both sides scored on a free throw in the first overtime, but a rushed three-ball by the Tigers missed, forcing a second overtime. Edwardsville took a 44-42 lead in the second OT, but Carter Hays scored on a lay-in to tie things again at 44-44. After a Tiger turnover late, the Crimsons missed a shot at the buzzer to force a third overtime.
In the third extra period, Edwardsville took a 48-44 lead, hitting a short jumper, then a pair of free throws after stealing the ball with 48.9 seconds to go. The Tigers got another steal off a press, and hit two more free throws to take a 50-44 lead. A three-point play by Jacksonville's Drew Ezard cut the Tiger lead to 50-47, and a Crimson steal in the final 20 seconds gave them a chance to tie, but a long three at the buzzer missed, giving the Tigers a hard-fought win.
Brennan Weller led the Tigers with 18 points and Jack Nafziger contributed 14 points to pace the squad.
The Tigers are now 2-0 in the round-robin tournament and will play their final game Saturday evening at the Jacksonville Bowl against Chatham Glenwood. The Tigers then play in a tournament at Ladue Dec. 2-5, and have their home opener Dec. 6 against two-time defending IHSA Class 4A champion Belleville West in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
