The Redbirds blew out longtime Southwestern Conference rivalCollinsville 65-51 on Friday night at home.

Alton is 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the SWC; Collinsville fell to 3-4, 1-3 in the SWC.

Redbirds’ coach Eric Smith said his kids responded in the second half when they were challenged.

“Our energy level wasn’t where it should have been in the first half,” he said. “In our conference, we won’t be able to be flat for a half. The way we ended up was an indication of how talented our kids are.”

Marcus Latham led the Redbirds with 22 points, while teammate Maurice Edwards also had a hot night with 15 points. Zack Flora had 10 points to lead Collinsville.

In the preseason, people kept talking about the pieces Alton was missing, but Smith said he knew they had talented kids and he is not surprised the team has started with six wins and only one loss.

“We have good depth and for the most part that has been a strength since I have been here,” Smith said. “I have the ability to play eight or nine strong kids.”

Smith said his team lacks height, but it has some excellent athletes.

“For us to be successful we have to do some things that let those athletes play in the space,” he said. “For the most part, we have been able to do that. As long as we share the basketball and are aggressive with paint touches, that helps our kids make plays. In the first half, we didn’t do that. We were working too hard to create our own shot. In the second half, we did a nice job of letting the offense work for us.”

Alton plays Soldan of north St. Louis Saturday in the Midwest Shootout at CBC in west St. Louis County.