GODFREY – It took only a four-minute scoreless stretch in the second quarter to doom the Alton Redbirds on Friday night.

The East St. Louis Flyers reeled off a 17-0 run late in the first half to erase a seven-point deficit and went on to beat the Redbirds 69-52 in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game at Alton High.

East Side improves to 5-2 and 3-0 in the SWC. Alton is 4-2 and 2-1 in the conference. East Side had won eight of the previous nine meetings with Alton before the Redbirds won both of their SWC dates with the Flyers last season.

The Redbirds, without their leading scorer in senior Maurice Edwards for the second straight game, were positioned to make it three straight over the Flyers when Ty’ohn Trimble hit a 3-pointer to put Alton up 21-14 one minute into the second quarter.

The margin was still seven points when East Side switched from a man defense to a zone in hopes of limiting Alton’s penetration. The Redbirds switched from making baskets to missing.

“We made an adjustment and guys responded to that adjustment well,” Flyers coach Phillip Gilbert said. “We created offense from our defense and guys made shots at crucial times. It kind of opened the game up. Coach Smith is a great X’s and O’s coach.”

Alton coach Eric Smith was unavailable for comment immediately after the game. The Redbirds made 3 of 17 shots in the second quarter and trailed 33-25 at halftime. The Flyers led 51-38 after three quarters.

Fans at AHS hoping to get a look at heralded Illini recruit Jeremiah Tilmon had to look fast. The 6-foot-11 Tilmon missed more than eight minutes of the first half with foul trouble. The Flyers senior, who transferred back to East St. Louis after spending his junior year at a prep school in Indiana, fouled out with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter.

Tilmon finished with eight points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field with five rebounds and three blocked shots in 13 minutes, 42 seconds of playing time. His coach is pleading for officials to stop calling fouls on Tilmon for being 6-11.

“It’s very frustrating and I feel for the kid,” Gilbert said. “It’s a situation where he’s running down the court with his hands in the air because he doesn’t know what to do. I know the officials are not used to officiating a 6-11, 257 pound, 18 year old. It’s kind of unfortunate for (Tilmon) because he came back home to help his boys win.

“Him not getting on the court is frustrating. It’s really frustrating and I can see the frustration in his face. …. The refs have to understand that he is a big body. And just because he’s open and there’s a man leaning down, it doesn’t mean he pushed them out of the way or rooted them out. They have to see that and they have to call it accordingly, not be biased to his body style. He’s a big, physical post presence. At the next level, he’s going to be dominant. Here, all we ask is just give him a chance. Let the kid play and develop. He’s not getting the chance.”

The Flyers’ Zachery Forest came off the bench, rained in four 3-pointers and led East Side with 19 points.

“Once he gets is feet set and his confidence going,” Gilbert said of Forest, “he’s capable of hitting two or three in a row. … He came up big for us tonight in a crucial time when we needed him.”

Rey Estes and Arthur Carter each finished with 14 points for the Flyers, who shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range, and made 7 of 11 free throws. East Side made 14 turnovers, while Alton had 17.

After knocking down 3 of their first 5 shots from the arc, shooting was a struggle for the Redbirds. Alton converted 29 percent (20 of 69) from the field, including a 4 of 20 night from 3-point range. The Redbirds made 8 of 10 free throws.

Alton’s Dereaun Clay scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, including 10 in the final quarter. Darrell Smith scored 11 points, with three 3-pointers, off the bench for the Redbirds, while Trimble finished with nine points.

EAST ST. LOUIS 69, ALTON 52

East Side 14 19 18 18 — 69

Alton 16 9 13 14 — 52.

East St. Louis (5-2, 3-0) – Tilmon 8, Chairs 8, Hargrove 6, Carter 14, Estes 14, Forest 19. FG-28 3FG-6 FT-7.

Alton (4-2, 2-1) – Caldwell 6, Walker 6, De. Clay 16, Trimble 9, Smith 11, Reid 4. FG-20 3FG-4 FT-8.

Greg Shashack may be reached at 618-798-1486 or on Twitter @gregshashack