A.J. Epenesa and teammates raise the regional trophy with pride on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Michael Weaver)GRANITE CITY — Edwardsville’s boys’ basketball team won an intense battle over Alton 66-53 on Friday night to take the IHSA Class 4A regional title and advance to Tuesday’s Ottawa sectional semifinal Tuesday night against Belleville West at Collinsville’s Vergil Fletcher Gym.

And one of the keys to the win, according to A.J. Epenesa, was the Tigers keeping their composure and staying the course throughout the very competitive 32 minutes.

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“Just keeping our composure and playing our game all night, and not changing the way we do things,” Epenesa said in a post-game interview resulted in the triumph.

And preparing for the Maroons will be a very simple task.

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“They’ve got some guys with some size, so we’re just going to practice like we do for them every week, and just try to do our thing and play our game,” Epenesa said

And to advance further down the road, there’s only one way Edwardsville will take.

“We’re just going to keep on doing our thing, keep on working hard, and keep doing it the Tiger way,” Epenesa said, with a hint of a smile.

Doing that thing will no doubt bring more postseason success to the Tigers as the playoffs continue.

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