BELLEVILLE – As one of the leading scorers in the St. Louis area, Edwardsville senior Jack Marinko led the way again for the Tigers, scoring 28 points in a 82-53 loss at Belleville West Friday night at the West gym. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he's the third leading scorer in the area, averaging 27,7 points a game going into Friday night's action.
It was a tough game for the Tigers though, as the Maroons took control in the second quarter and never looked back.
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“They're pretty high-ranked in the state,” Marinko said about West in a post-game interview. “Everybody on the floor can make it for them, they've got (E.J.) Lidenl blocking shots like crazy. They're just a good overall team.”
The Tigers kept battling throughout the entire game against a very good Maroon team.
“In the first half, I thought we executed our game plan perfect,” Marinko said. “We were only down a couple points. They turned some shots in the second half, we got into some foul trouble, and they started taking over from there.”
There's still a month to go in the regular season before the IHSA Class 4A playoffs start. Marinko knows that the Tigers will be working hard and preparing for each game as it comes. The goals for the final month are very simple.
“We're just going to get prepared for the next game,” Marinko said (a home tilt next Friday night against East St. Louis). “Game by game, we're just going to keep getting better in practice, and keep trying to get W's.”
And when March arrives, Marinko feels that Edwardsville will be ready to go.
“We're going to be playing our best basketball in March,” Marinko said, “when the post-season comes around.”
And with the leadership of Jack Marinko, the Tigers will be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.
