EDWARDSVILLE - Brennan Weller led Edwardsville with 15 points, Jack Nafziger added 12, and a very tough Tiger defense allowed only 12 points in the first half as the Tigers went on to a 54-32 win over Quincy in the second semifinal of the IHSA Class 4A boys basketball regional Tuesday night at Lucco-Jackson Gym.
Edwardsville advances to the final Friday night, and will face O'Fallon for the third time this season for the right to move on to next week's Pekin sectional.
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The Tigers dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 25-7 while not allowing a basket until late in the period as Edwardsville went on to its 13th win in its last 15 games.
"I thought our guys executed a lot of things well," said Tigers' head coach Dustin Battas. "As a coach, you just want your preparation to be on point, and carry over into the game, and I just though. I just thought the first quarter and the second quarter was evident that our guys were paying attention to our game plan, and executing on offense. And with the guys who can shoot shots, they were trying to take their actions away on defense. I thought we did a really good job guarding."
The Tigers pace was much faster than how they usually play, and it worked to their advantage.
"I think in their zone, you just try to exploit where you can get baskets, and try to put your best on their worst if you can," Battas said, "and that lends itself to attacking more, because you've got some more space. We've just been practicing, try to take what the defense gives us, and I thought our guys took what was available, had a little more confidence tonight, and we were able to make shots that we got open."
The Tigers had lost to Quincy in the Prairie Farms Collinsville Holiday Classic 51-50 on Dec. 28, and Battas felt that his team had more time to prepare for the Blue Devils for this game, which helped make a difference.
"I think tournament games are tough, because you don't get to practice, you play so many games in a short amount of time," Battas said. "So our preparation, we just simply had more time to prepare; I think that's why our defense was better. On offense, I think we've improved daily. We're working on shooting and skills. Our guys have gone through the Southwestern Conference now, so we see a team like that, going through the second half of the conference, I think that prepares you a little bit, too. So, kind of a mix of things. Individual improvement, and going through the gauntlet of our conference schedule. Just had a little bit more practice time. It's a credit to our guys, because they practice good every day."
It was all Tigers from the start of the first quarter, beginning with back-to-back threes from Nafziger to give Edwardsville a fast 6-0 lead, before Jack Rupert scored Quincy's first basket to make it 6-2. A three from Adonte Crider cut the Edwardsville lead to 6-5, but it was as close as the Blue Devils would get all evening, as Nic Hemken hit back-to-back basket, and Weller hit a free throw to make it 11-5 Tigers after one quarter.
Edwardsville simply exploded in the second quarter, scoring going on a 20-2 run, starting with a basket from Hemken and a basket and free throws from Weller to make it 17-5 for the Tigers. A pair of free throws from Crider made it 17-7, but then, the Tigers scored the next 14 points, as Weller hit from inside, Preston Weaver hit a three on the side, another basket and free throws from Weller, a Jalil Roundtree steal and score and another three from Nafziger to make the score 31-7 with 2:03 left in the half. Rupert hit a three to end the Quincy drought, but Nafziger hit on a three to make it 34-10 before a pair of free throws from Lucas Reis and a basket from Weller made the score 36-12 for Edwardsville at halftime.
The teams traded baskets to start the second half before a Reis three cut the Tiger lead to 38-17, but Ethan Young hit back-to-back threes, sandwiched around a basket from Brady Rupert, to make it 44-19. Reis then scored, followed by a Brady Rupert three before a basket at the buzzer from Gavin Reames made the score 46-24 at the end of the third period.
To Quincy's credit, the Blue Devils kept fighting, and another Brady Rupert three made it 46-27, but the Tigers outscored Quincy 8-5 the rest of the way, as Edwardsville got a basket from Young, a pair of free throws from Caleb Valentine, a three-point play from Calen McKinney and another basket from McKinney shortly before the buzzer to make the final 54-32.
Quincy's season ends with a 16-14 record, while the Tigers are now 23-9 and go on to the final against the Panthers, a 63-52 winner over Alton in the first semifinal, with the tip-off coming at 7 p.m.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
