ALTON - The Alton High School boys basketball team came back from trailing at halftime 30-24 to take a 41-38 lead at the end of the third, and lead by five early in the fourth, but a 20-6 fourth-quarter run helped give Belleville West a 65-56 win over the Redbirds in a Southwestern Conference game Friday night at the Redbirds Nest.
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The Maroons used a 9-0 run after Alton had taken a 43-38 lead early in the fourth to go-ahead 47-43, and from there stayed hot while the Redbirds only made five shots in the final quarter, and then used good free throw shooting to help keep Alton at bay, going on to the nine-point win.
The key play was a three-point basket from J'laun Patterson plus a foul underneath the basket called against Alton that allowed the Maroons to keep possession. Greg Wells hit the equalizer that turned the momentum around in West's favor.
Tommie Williams led the way for the Maroons with 21 points, while Wells had 12 points and Deonte Wright had 10. Dante Herrin led the Redbirds with 13 points, with Ky'lun Rivers scoring 12 points and Ja'markus Gary adding nine.
Alton is now 9-7 on the season, 1-4 in the SWC, and is on the road next week, playing at East St. Louis on Tuesday and at Edwardsville next Friday, with both games tipping off at 7:30 p.m. The Redbirds then play against Normandy in a shootout at East St. Louis Jan. 18 in a game that starts at 3:45 p.m.
The Maroons improve to 8-7 on the season, 2-3 in the league, and are idle until next Friday night, when West is at Collinsville in a 7:30 p.m. tip.
