GODFREY — It’s doubtful anyone was surprised Alton’s Maurice Edwards took the last shot in Wednesday night’s Class 4A Regional semifinal against Chatham Glenwood. And when Edwards made the 10-foot pull up jumper from the left baseline at the buzzer to lift Alton to a 46-45 semifinal victory, few were shocked.

Just like head coach Eric Smith drew it up, right?

Not quite.

“It really wasn’t how it was drawn up,” Smith said. “But (Edwards) had to improvise.”

The Redbirds trailed Glenwood 45-42 after the Titans’ Matt Bahlman made both ends of a one-and-one with 16.6 seconds remaining in the game.

After a timeout, Alton came down the floor and instead of going for a trey that would have tied the game, Edwards drove the lane and scored untouched, bringing the Redbirds with 45-44 with 9.1 seconds left.

“I think 90 percent of the coaches you’d talk to would do it that way,” Smith said of going for the two pointer rather than the trey. “There was plenty of time left.”

Bahlman was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play with no time elapsing. He missed the front end of the one-and-one and Edwards got the rebound, setting up his buzzer-beating heroics.

“The play broke down. The screen wasn’t set up,” Edwards said of Alton’s final possession, “so I had to make something out of nothing.”

The victory for the Redbirds (14-10) means a 7 p.m. championship game berth Friday against Quincy. At stake will be a semifinal berth in the Collinsville Sectional Tournament.

So what’s the secret for the Redbirds against Quincy. Smith summed it up succinctly.

“Play better,” he said. “We’ve got to be stubborn.

“This has been an emotional season,” said Edwards, who finished with 19 points. “But I’m an aggressive type of player and I’ve taken the big shots before.”

The Titans felt they had defended Edwards good enough on the final shot.

“I thought we played good defense on him,” Glenwood coach Todd Blakeman said. “We got a hand in his face. I didn’t think it was in, but it was.

“I thought we even played better defensively in the second half.”

The final buzzer sounded as the ball drained through the basket.

“(Edwards) is that type of player,” Smith said. “The way (Glenwood) plays, I was impressed the way he got to the paint.”

Glenwood, which finished 18-11, led most of the way since early in the second quarter when they took a 17-14 lead on a trey by Will Hanlon with 5:39 remaining in the first half. They increased their lead to as many as six points but couldn’t shake the Redbirds, who climbed within 24-22 at halftime.

The teams traded baskets, with the Titans holding a lead ranging from two to six points and the Redbirds never quite getting over the hump.

That is, until a minute remained in the game. That’s when Marcus Latham a jumper that put Alton ahead 42-41.

Glenwood’s Parker Allen put the Titans back in front 43-42 with a shot from the lane with 29 seconds remaining.

When Kevin Caldwell’s trey with 16.6 seconds remaining was off target, Bahlman grabbed the rebound for Glenwood and was fouled by Alton’s Ty’ohn Trimble. Bahlman banked in both free throws, making it 45-42, setting up the wild finish.

Glenwood’s Joel Alexander tied Edwards for high-scorer with 19 points. Each was the only player on their team to score in double figures. Caldwell scored eight for Alton and the Titans’ Allen also scored eight.

Alton settled in after a rough start.

“We were frustrated,” Smith said. “We took way to many threes. But down the stretch, we got better. That’s been our style.

“There was to much one-on-one but we settled down and that was the recipe for success. There were too many guys trying to be a hero.”

As it turned out, Edwards was the one to fill that need.

Reach Pete Hayes at 463-2500 or Twitter @HayeserPete