Alton senior Donovan Clay and Civic Memorial junior Anna Hall pose with their player of the year trophies at the Gallatin Players of the Year banquet on Sunday.
Alton senior Donovan Clay and Civic Memorial junior Anna Hall walked out of the Best Premier Hotel with another award on Sunday.
Clay and Hall were selected as the players of the year in the boys and girls divisions, respectively, at the 74th annual Gallatin Players of the Year Banquet.
Clay became the sixth Alton player in the last 10 years to win the boys' player of the year award. Hall's honor marked the ninth straight year a Civic Memorial player has won the girls POY award.
Clay and Hall earned all-state honors from the Associated Press and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. They also helped their teams turn in successful seasons, with the Alton boys winning 23 games and capturing a Class 4A regional title and the CM girls picking up 29 wins and winning Mississippi Valley Conference and Class 3A regional championships.
Civic Memorial senior Bryce Zupan, East Alton-Wood River senior ZIon Adams, Marquette Catholic senior Nick Hemann and Roxana sophomore Gavin Huffman were the boys player of the year nominees. The girls POY nominees were Alton senior Laila McNeal, East Alton-Wood River junior Aubrey Robinson, Marquette Catholic freshman Adrenna Snipes and Roxana junior Kiley Winfree.
Also on Sunday, Marquette Catholic senior Chris Hartrich and East Alton-Wood River junior Leigh Ann Nottke were named the winners of the 110 Percent Award in the boys and girls divisions, respectively.
Alton's Charles Miller, Civic Memorial's Grant Lane, EA-WR's Jake Wells and Roxana's Eddie Lara were the boys 110 Percent award candidates. The girls 110 Percent award candidates were Alton's Jayla Fox, Civic Memorial's Kaylee Klaustermeier, Marquette Catholic's Payton Connors and Roxana's Olivia Mouser.
Civic Memorial completed the sweep in the Free Throw Award as junior Kourtland Tyus (girls) and Zupan (boys) were named the winners.
The Marquette Catholic girls and Roxana boys won the Team Sportsmanship Awards.
There was also a meritorious service award presented to Gary Buck, a longtime member of the Alton Exchange Club and former emcee of the banquet. It was the second annual service award at the Gallatin Awards. Last year Alton Exchange Club member and the most recent emcee of the banquet, Dave Elson, won the award.
Marquette Catholic's Payton Connors, Alton's Jayla Fox, Civic Memorial's Kaylee Klaustermeier and Roxana's Olivia Mouser were named the candidates of the Girls 110 Percent Award. East Alton-Wood River's LeighAnn Nottke, who didn't attend Sunday's banquet, won the award.
East Alton-Wood River's Zion Adams, Marquette Catholic's Nick Hemann, Alton's Donovan Clay, Civic Memorial's Bryce Zupan and Roxana's Gavin Huffman were the boys player of the year candidates. Clay won the award.
East Alton-Wood River's Aubrey Robinson, Marquette Catholic's Adrenna Snipes, Roxana's Kiley Winfree and Civic Memorial's Anna Hall were the girls player of the year candidates. Hall won the award. Another candidate, Alton's Laila McNeal, wasn't present in Sunday's banquet.
Alton's Charles Miller, Civic Memorial's Grant Lane, Marquette Catholic's Chris Hartrich, East Alton-Wood River's Jake Wells, and Roxana's Eddie Lara were the boys 110 Percent Award candidates. Braeden Wells accepted the award for Lara, who was playing in an all-star game in Carlinville. Hartrich won the award.
Liddell scores 22, Randolph 12 for West, Clay 14 for Redbirds as Maroons Advance in Sectional - Riverbender.com - 3/6/2019
EDWARDSVILLE – Belleville West senior E.J. Liddell scored 22 points, while Keith Randolph, Jr. came alive in the second half with 12 points as the Maroons defeated Alton 59-49 in the IHSA Class 4A East Moline United sectional semifinal Tuesday night at Edwardsville’s Lucco-Jackson Gym.
Alton star Donovan Clay scored 14 points in the first half to help the Redbirds to a lead at halftime but was limited to three points in the second half for a total of 17.
The Maroons were able to clamp down on the Redbirds defensively in the second half, as Alton didn’t show the patience offensively that brought much success during the latter part of the season.
“I mean, I think we just kind of went away from some of the stuff that we’ve done in the past that we’ve been successful with,” said Redbird coach Eric Smith. “We got a little impatient; I think when they made their run, we felt the moment a little bit, and we weren’t necessarily as patient as we probably needed to be.”
Liddell also had a big night defensively blocking shots, and Smith felt that it helped hinder a small, but key part of the offense.
“I think the issue for us is, that we’ve talked about with our kids in playing them, is, like, the hockey assist is more important to us in this game,” Smith said, “because he kind of floats around and looks to try to block a shot, so the first guy makes a pass to the next guy, then the next guy’s gonna be the one who makes a play, you know, either scores it or to a teammate, because it’s hard for him to go to two spots. And I don’t know if we had a hockey assist or not. Last time, we had four or five of them, so I think that was a good key for us.”
But Smith knew that the effort was there against West.
“Oh, yeah,” Smith said with a smile. “We played our tails off. I mean, we competed, played hard. They’ve just got some big dudes.”
West was able to guard Clay better in the second half, which also helped spell the difference in the game.
“We guarded. I mean, we guarded,” said Maroon coach Joe Muniz. “We challenged our kids to get tougher on them, get better on them. We did some different things that we hadn’t done in the previous three games on them. We switched every screen. They were able to help break us down. A lot of our troubles with them was their ability to break us down, and get in the lane, then kick it out and get wide-open threes. And we didn’t let them get in the lane in the second half. They were doing more standing around the perimeter, but our guys got after it a little bit more.”
West was able to weather the storm in the first half, where the Redbirds went up by as much as nine, and then came back with a big run of their own. Muniz gave Smith tremendous credit for having the Redbirds ready to go.
“ I just told our kids this is a game of runs. We just got to make sure that we have the last run. We weathered the storm, and I’m proud of our kids. And one of the things I reminded our kids, we are state champions. We gotta go out there, play like it, act like it. We’ve been here before. And I thought our kids showed great composure during that adversity because we haven’t been hit that hard in a long time.”
The game started out with the two key players, Liddell and Clay, trading baskets. The Maroons went to a 5-4 lead on another basket by Liddell, and the two teams traded the lead on threes by Josh Rivers and Jaylin Mosby before a basket by Malik Smith tied the game at 10-10. Mosby hit another three to give West the lead right back, then a basket by Rivers and a three from Andrew Jones gave the Redbirds a 15-13 lead. Clay extended the lead to 18-13 on a baseline three, but there was no further scoring in the quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Clay blocked a Liddell shot, which led to a breakaway dunk by Rivers to extend the lead to 20-13. Clay then flew into the lane to score, making it 22-13 and causing West to call time out. After the time out, a Liddell free throw and a Mosby basket cut the lead to 22-16, forcing an Alton time out with 4:31 left in the half. A Lawrence Brazil III three up top and a Liddell dunk cut the lead to 22-21, and after another exchange of baskets, Clay hit a three up top to make it 27-23. Randolph scored inside to cut the edge to two, but both teams missed chances to score at the end of the half, making the score 27-25 Alton at halftime.
The Clay-Liddell matchup was very intriguing, as both players carried their teams throughout the half.
“Yeah, two competitive kids who play hard,” Smith said. “For a high school basketball game, I mean, I don’t know around here, you’re not going to go to too many places and see that kind of competition between two kids.”
Jones opened the second half with a three to make it 30-25 for the Redbirds, but the Maroons began to take control after that, going on an 8-0 run, fueled by a bank shot from Liddell, a Brazil drive in the lane, and a Liddell three up top and free throw to give West a 33-30 lead. A three-ball from Rivers tied the game up at 33-33, but Randolph scored twice to give the Maroons a four-point advantage. After a pair of Moory Woods free throws, Liddell dunked off a rebound and Randolph scored off a Liddell block to make it 43-36 for the Maroons. A Randolph free throw made it 44-36 West after three.
Randolph came alive in that quarter with eight points, which was big for West.
“He was phenomenal,” Muniz said. “And the thing is that he caught the ball, he started attacking, quit dribbling, and he just started attacking them. And when he plays with that motor, he makes us that much harder to guard.”
Rivers hit a three to cut the lead to 44-39 to start the final quarter, but a free throw and a three-point play by Brazil extended the West lead to 47-40 before a Smith basket cut the Maroon edge to 47-42. West went into a slowdown game, and it resulted in a Liddell basket and two free throws to extend the lead to 51-42. After another exchange of baskets, Liddell broke away for a dunk that made it 55-44, and from there, West hit on its free throws to make the final 59-49.
Brazil added 10 points for the Maroons, while Rivers had 13 for the Redbirds.
Muniz was very pleased with his team’s effort, and haven’t lost since dropping a game Feb. 20 in Alton 44-43 on a Rivers three at the buzzer.
“Absolutely,” Muniz said. “I mean, there wasn’t one kid in there that enjoyed what we did two Tuesdays ago. I mean, we made them stand and wait and shake hands and see the celebration on the sidelines, because you’ve gotta learn how to win with class. And you’ve gotta learn how to win. And we heard those celebrations in the locker room while we were in our doldrums. You’ve gotta learn how to accept it; you can look in a mirror and get better, or you can blame other people, or you can do this or that. And I think our kids, after that day, got refocused. And I knew when we walked out of there – I didn’t want to lose – but I knew I had our kids’ attention now. Because like I said, we have been doing that all season long, but we’ve always come up winning. In our two losses, we have excuses. There was no excuse; they flat out beat us. And like I said, that’s a hell of a team, Eric’s a great coach, does a great job.”
West is now 30-4 on the year and advances to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year, where they will play against Danville, a 68-57 winner over Pekin in the semifinal at East Moline, in the final on Friday night in a 7 p.m. tip-off. Muniz is expecting another great game. Alton finishes with a 23-10 mark.
“Well, it’s going to be another good game,” Muniz said. “I mean, you’re playing for a sectional championship. I know Danville’s really good, and Pekin is just playing as well as they can play. So I expect another great game.”
COLLINSVILLE – The Alton High boys basketball team countered an 18-5 run by Springfield High that gave them the lead in the second half with a run of their own in the second and third quarters to help give the Redbirds a 66-61 win over the Senators in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 4A Collinsville regional Tuesday night at Vergil Fletcher Gym.
It was a very streaky game, where both teams went on runs at one time or another, but it was Alton that went on the game’s most decisive run, outscoring Springfield 8-0 at the end of the second, then 9-2 at the start of the third that gave the Redbirds enough cushion to survive at the end.
“Yeah, it gave us enough breathing room,” Alton coach Eric Smith said with a laugh.
Smith also thought that his team didn’t play that well offensively.
“Offensively, we’ve just got to be a little bit better,” Smith said. “We’ve struggled here for the last three or four games offensively, so whatever the formula is, we’ve got to get back to it to what we had about a month ago.”
The game’s momentum switched back and forth throughout, and as things turned out, the Redbirds were able to gain enough of an edge to advance.
“Yeah, I mean, the kind of the formula for us when we’ve been really, really good is we’ve shared the ball, we’ve got ball movement, player movement, and we’ve not taken contested shots,” Smith said. “We took contested shots tonight, we didn’t move, so it wasn’t a stellar offensive performance for us.”
Alton was able to get baskets at key moments throughout the game.
“Yeah, and that’s the frustrating part,” Smith said, ‘is that we’ve got skilled offensive kids. But when they don’t necessarily play together, it makes it a little bit more difficult.”
The Senators were led by Zaire Harris, who had 25 points. Smith knew that Springfield would be a good opponent.
“Yeah, and they’ve got some athletic kids who can do some things,” Smith said, “and we knew that going in. They play in a tough conference, they play some really good teams. We thought they were going to fight us; we didn’t expect anything less than what they gave us tonight.”
And Smith wasn’t surprised with the big run the Senators went on to take the lead in the second quarter.
“Yeah, I mean the frustrating part for us was they did to us what we kind of what we hoped to do to them,” Smith said, “is that everything for them was going at the basket, and anything they got was all in rhythm because they got paint touches.”
The Redbirds exploded out of the gates, getting an early basket from Donovan Clay and dunks from Rivers and Clay to take an early 6-0 lead. After a time out, Harris hit on a three-point play to halve the lead, but a Moory Woods free throw gave Alton a 7-3 edge. After an exchange of baskets, Rivers scored twice to give the Redbirds a 13-5 lead, but a Shane Miller basket shortly before the buzzer made the score 13-7 for Alton after the first quarter.
Bennie Slater hit a fadeaway jumper to start the second quarter for the Senators, but free throws from Clay and a Malik Smith basket extended the Alton lead to 19-9. That’s when Springfield started their 18-5 run, beginning with a basket from Nate Borders and free throws from Miller to cut the lead to 19-13. A Randy Butler three gave Alton a 22-13 advantage, and after the Redbirds went up 23-15, Miller hit consecutive threes to cut the lead to 23-21, A Charles Miller free throw made it 24-21, but the Senators got a pair of baskets from Miller to go ahead 25-24. A pair of Miller free throws made it 27-24, and from there, the Redbirds got free throws from Butler and threes from Clay and Ky’lun Rivers to take a 32-27 lead at halftime.
The momentum stayed with the Redbirds at the start of the second half, as Alton scored the first seven points of the half, getting a basket from Clay to start, then Josh Rivers hitting a three and a driving lay-in to make it 39-27, forcing a Springfield time out. Harris immediately hit a three to cut the lead to nine, but a Miller basket underneath gave Alton a 41-30 lead. Borders then hit on a three-point play and a basket to cut the lead to 41-35, but a Butler floater, free throws from Woods and a Clay basket restored a 12-point Redbird advantage at 47-35. The momentum then switched back and forth, but in the end, Springfield outscored Alton 8-5, but it was the Redbirds who led 52-43 after three.
Harris hit inside and Miller connected on a pair of free throws at the start of the fourth quarter to cut the Alton lead to 52-47, but a pair of free throws from Charles Miller and a basket from Rivers re-upped the Redbird lead to 56-47. Baskets from Slater and Harris cut the Alton lead to 56-51, but then, Andrew Jones hit a clutch three on the baseline to make it 59-51. Brayden Schmoehe countered with his own three, and Shane Miller scored from the side to make it 60-56 with 1:31 to go. Woods upped the lead to six, and the Senators did cut the gap to three on a three-point play by Harris with 48.8 seconds left to 62-59. The Redbirds then hit on five free throws in the final minute to make the final 66-61.
Woods scored 10 points to help the Redbirds, while Miller had 14 and Slater 10 for the Senators.
Alton is now 18-9 on the year and advances to a rubber game against Collinsville, a 54-34 winner over Edwardsville, in the final on Friday night, with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The two teams split their Southwestern Conference games this season, and Smith is looking forward to the final.
“It’ll be fun,” Smith said. “Kids will be excited to play in the game, I would expect that it’ll be a pretty good crowd. Two good teams are going to go play for a regional championship.”
Smith isn’t worried that the game will be played on Collinsville’s home court.
“I don’t think that really bothers our kids too much,” Smith said. “Just another game for us.”
And if the Redbirds play the way they’re capable of, the final could turn into a classic.
“Offensively, if we play the way we have about a month ago or so, we’ll be fine,” Smith said. “If we don’t do a little better offensively, it’s going to be a struggle.”
COLLINSVILLE – The Alton High boys basketball team countered an 18-5 run by Springfield High that gave them the lead in the second half with a run of their own in the second and third quarters to help give the Redbirds a 66-61 win over the Senators in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 4A Collinsville regional Tuesday night at Vergil Fletcher Gym.
It was a very streaky game, where both teams went on runs at one time or another, but it was Alton that went on the game’s most decisive run, outscoring Springfield 8-0 at the end of the second, then 9-2 at the start of the third that gave the Redbirds enough cushion to survive at the end.
“Yeah, it gave us enough breathing room,” Alton coach Eric Smith said with a laugh.
Smith also thought that his team didn’t play that well offensively.
“Offensively, we’ve just got to be a little bit better,” Smith said. “We’ve struggled here for the last three or four games offensively, so whatever the formula is, we’ve got to get back to it to what we had about a month ago.”
The game’s momentum switched back and forth throughout, and as things turned out, the Redbirds were able to gain enough of an edge to advance.
“Yeah, I mean, the kind of the formula for us when we’ve been really, really good is we’ve shared the ball, we’ve got ball movement, player movement, and we’ve not taken contested shots,” Smith said. “We took contested shots tonight, we didn’t move, so it wasn’t a stellar offensive performance for us.”
Alton was able to get baskets at key moments throughout the game.
“Yeah, and that’s the frustrating part,” Smith said, ‘is that we’ve got skilled offensive kids. But when they don’t necessarily play together, it makes it a little bit more difficult.”
The Senators were led by Zaire Harris, who had 25 points. Smith knew that Springfield would be a good opponent.
“Yeah, and they’ve got some athletic kids who can do some things,” Smith said, “and we knew that going in. They play in a tough conference, they play some really good teams. We thought they were going to fight us; we didn’t expect anything less than what they gave us tonight.”
And Smith wasn’t surprised with the big run the Senators went on to take the lead in the second quarter.
“Yeah, I mean the frustrating part for us was they did to us what we kind of what we hoped to do to them,” Smith said, “is that everything for them was going at the basket, and anything they got was all in rhythm because they got paint touches.”
The Redbirds exploded out of the gates, getting an early basket from Donovan Clay and dunks from Rivers and Clay to take an early 6-0 lead. After a time out, Harris hit on a three-point play to halve the lead, but a Moory Woods free throw gave Alton a 7-3 edge. After an exchange of baskets, Rivers scored twice to give the Redbirds a 13-5 lead, but a Shane Miller basket shortly before the buzzer made the score 13-7 for Alton after the first quarter.
Bennie Slater hit a fadeaway jumper to start the second quarter for the Senators, but free throws from Clay and a Malik Smith basket extended the Alton lead to 19-9. That’s when Springfield started their 18-5 run, beginning with a basket from Nate Borders and free throws from Miller to cut the lead to 19-13. A Randy Butler three gave Alton a 22-13 advantage, and after the Redbirds went up 23-15, Miller hit consecutive threes to cut the lead to 23-21, A Charles Miller free throw made it 24-21, but the Senators got a pair of baskets from Miller to go ahead 25-24. A pair of Miller free throws made it 27-24, and from there, the Redbirds got free throws from Butler and threes from Clay and Ky’lun Rivers to take a 32-27 lead at halftime.
The momentum stayed with the Redbirds at the start of the second half, as Alton scored the first seven points of the half, getting a basket from Clay to start, then Josh Rivers hitting a three and a driving lay-in to make it 39-27, forcing a Springfield time out. Harris immediately hit a three to cut the lead to nine, but a Miller basket underneath gave Alton a 41-30 lead. Borders then hit on a three-point play and a basket to cut the lead to 41-35, but a Butler floater, free throws from Woods and a Clay basket restored a 12-point Redbird advantage at 47-35. The momentum then switched back and forth, but in the end, Springfield outscored Alton 8-5, but it was the Redbirds who led 52-43 after three.
Harris hit inside and Miller connected on a pair of free throws at the start of the fourth quarter to cut the Alton lead to 52-47, but a pair of free throws from Charles Miller and a basket from Rivers re-upped the Redbird lead to 56-47. Baskets from Slater and Harris cut the Alton lead to 56-51, but then, Andrew Jones hit a clutch three on the baseline to make it 59-51. Brayden Schmoehe countered with his own three, and Shane Miller scored from the side to make it 60-56 with 1:31 to go. Woods upped the lead to six, and the Senators did cut the gap to three on a three-point play by Harris with 48.8 seconds left to 62-59. The Redbirds then hit on five free throws in the final minute to make the final 66-61.
Woods scored 10 points to help the Redbirds, while Miller had 14 and Slater 10 for the Senators.
Alton is now 18-9 on the year and advances to a rubber game against Collinsville, a 54-34 winner over Edwardsville, in the final on Friday night, with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The two teams split their Southwestern Conference games this season, and Smith is looking forward to the final.
“It’ll be fun,” Smith said. “Kids will be excited to play in the game, I would expect that it’ll be a pretty good crowd. Two good teams are going to go play for a regional championship.”
Smith isn’t worried that the game will be played on Collinsville’s home court.
“I don’t think that really bothers our kids too much,” Smith said. “Just another game for us.”
And if the Redbirds play the way they’re capable of, the final could turn into a classic.
“Offensively, if we play the way we have about a month ago or so, we’ll be fine,” Smith said. “If we don’t do a little better offensively, it’s going to be a struggle.”
GODFREY – The play was designed to make Donovan Clay the hero.
But a fortunate bounce and a hurried, off-balance 3-pointer from the top of the key as the horn sounded left Josh Rivers in that coveted role Wednesday night at Alton High.
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“Big shot,” Rivers said, “big win.”
A trey after an offensive rebound off Clay’s missed baseline 3 found Rivers at the top of the key and triggered a wild on-court celebration after the Alton Redbirds stunned the Belleville West Maroons 44-43 in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game.
“I was just hoping it went in,” Rivers said. “And it went in. This is a great feeling.”
The victory was the 20th of the season for the Redbirds, who take a 20-10 record, including a 7-4 SWC mark, into Friday’s regular-season finale back here against O’Fallon. West, the defending Class 4A state champion, drops to 26-4 and 9-3 in the league.
“Like I told our kids, whether we won that game or lost that game, I’d have been happy we won only because we won the game,” West coach Joe Muniz said. “That’s about all you can say. I’m just really disappointed in our kids. We didn’t play well tonight. We had everything going in our direction. We got Clay in foul trouble and they’re down 10. And we lost our heads a little bit.”
Josh Rivers’ game-winning 3 left him as the only Redbird to reach double digits with 10 points. Clay, who missed more than six minutes of the second half with four fouls, scored nine points and Andrew Jones had eight points for Alton. West got 12 points from Will Shumpert and 10 from both E.J. Liddell and Keith Randolph.
A two-point second quarter left the Redbirds trailing 18-12 at halftime. The Maroons were up by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before taking a 33-24 lead to the fourth quarter.
But after a dysfunctional opening half on offense for Alton, the Redbirds outscored West 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
“We told the kids the whole game, we didn’t think effort was an issue,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “I thought we played our tails off. But offensively, for the first half, that might have been as bad as we’ve been in the time that I’ve been here. We had no ball movement, we had no player movement. Guys, I think because of the moment, were trying to do too much, they wanted to be the guy to score. And that’s not a good recipe for us. We’re really, really good when we share the ball.”
The “really, really good” Redbirds debuted in the second half and took down the state’s No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A in the final eight minutes.
“We shot, what 15 3s in the first half,” asked Smith, whose team made just one 3-pointer in the first half before knocking down four in the fourth quarter. “We shot a ton of 3s in the first half and they were contested, they weren’t off paint touches. In the second half, we got more stuff going to the rim.”
That better ball movement brought Jones’ 3-pointer, Ky’lun Rivers’ layup off a Moory Woods’ steal, and 3-pointers from Josh Rivers and Randy Butler to draw the Redbirds even at 35-35 with 5:25 remaining to cap an 11-2 Alton run.
The Maroons would twice regain leads of four points – at 39-35 with 4:44 left and 42-38 with 2:59 left – but could not close out the Redbirds, who were without second-leading scorer Malik Smith for a third straight game. He is expected to return for next week’s regional at Collinsville.
The SWC loss was the third in the last five league games for West, which will be denied its first back-to-back SWC titles since 2003-04. East St. Louis has clinched hte conference crown.
“We’ve lost leads like this before, but we’ve always found a way to win,” Muniz said. “The last three games, we haven’t found a way to win. The ball’s not bounced our way. Earlier in the season, the ball was bouncing our way, but we’re still playing the same way. Now we have to learn from our mistakes and get better. I’m just hoping our guys will get into practice tomorrow and work on getting better.”
The Redbirds converted just 2 of 5 free throws in the final 3:22 to get within 42-41. West’s Tommie Williams made the front end of a one-and-one with 32 seconds remaining to make it 43-41.
Alton held for one shot and a West deflection gave Alton the ball at midcourt with 8.2 seconds left. And after a Redbirds’ timeout, Clay’s 3 contested by West’s 6-foot-7 E.J. Liddell was off target and Rivers converted the put back from 20 feet to win it.
“Good players make good plays,” Eric Smith said. “Josh made a heck of a play. Sometimes, it’s nice to have the ball bounce the way you want it to.”
The victory ended the Redbirds’ seven-game losing streak vs. the Maroons, who had pulled out hotly contested wins over Alton 62-57 on Dec. 29 in the title game at the Centralia Tourney and 61-55 on Jan. 4 in Belleville.
Now, the Maroons have little time – they close the regular season Friday at home against Granite City – to regroup before starting defense of their state title in next week’s regional at West. The Maroons were hoping to be sharpened rathen than dulled by a schedule that may have been the most daunting every faced by a SWC squad.
“It was the toughest schedule, probably, that ever’s been played around here,” Muniz said of a slate that included teams from nine states. “But these kids are good basketball players. We’re a good basketball team. I think our kids are playing against a lot of great teams. And I think Alton’s a great team, I think Collinsville’s a great team, I think East St. Louis is a great team. I think every team in our Southwestern Conference is a great team, there are no nights off.
“Our guys have to figure out a way to pull through this. We have yet to play a complete team game, where we have all five guys clicking, where we’re moving the ball. We did a lot of standing tonight. I don’t know. I know this, if we don’t get our guts up and get going, it will be a short postseason.”
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Hot-shooting Redbirds too much for Tigers - The Telegraph - 2/15/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Hot-shooting Redbirds too much for Tigers
Scott Marion, smarion@edwpub.net
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
Alton’s Donovan Clay shoots over an Edwardsville defender during a Redbirds’ SWC victory last month at Alton High in Godfrey. The teams met again Thursday in Edwardsville with the Redbirds winning again at Lucco-Jackson Gym.
EDWARDSVILLE – The home-court advantage wasn’t enough for the Edwardsville boys basketball team as it remained winless in the Southwestern Conference.
Edwardsville lost 63-39 to Alton on Thursday at Lucco-Jackson Gymnasium. The loss was the seventh in eight games for the Tigers, who dropped to 7-19 overall and 0-10 in league play. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved up due to the weather forecast.
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Alton shot 53 percent (10 of 19) from 3-point range. The Redbirds pulled away in the second half after leading by eight points at halftime.
“When they make 10 3s and hit 50 percent of them, it’s going to be hard to guard them,” Edwardsville coach Dustin Battas said. “They space you really good and they’re fast, so you’ve got to come and help.”
The last winless year for Edwardsville in SWC action was the 1969-70 season, when it went 0-12. The Tigers were 1-11 in the conference during the 1976-77 season and again in 1977-78.
Edwardsville has two more chances to earn a conference win. It will host O’Fallon for Senior Night on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season on Feb. 22 at Belleville East.
“I watched film from our earlier game against Alton and we’re light years from where we were offensively,” Battas said. “I certainly feel like we’ve improved, but the conference is really good. We’re excited about O’Fallon and Belleville East next week. Our guys are focused on having a chance to beat two conference opponents and then hopefully win our first game of the regional.”
Alton, meanwhile, improved to 18-10 overall and 6-4 in the SWC. The Redbirds bounced back from a 75-61 conference loss at Collinsville on Feb. 8.
“When things are going well, we look pretty good,” said Redbirds coach Eric Smith, whose team beat Edwardsville 61-49 on Jan. 22 at Alton. “We have the ability to put some kids out there that can knock down some shots in stretches. We felt that our length and athleticism would affect their ability to score on the drive. For the most part, our kids did a pretty good job of that.”
With Josh Rivers scoring the first eight points for Alton, the Redbirds led 13-10 after one quarter. Alton had four more 3-pointers in the second half to push its lead to 27-19 at halftime. Junior Randy Butler had three of those treys. Butler led a balanced Alton attack with 12 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Randy hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time, but he came in and did his job,” Smith said. “Everybody is excited about the fact that he made four 3s, but defensively he did some things that we were pretty excited about.”
Edwardsville never got closer than eight points in the second half.
A basket by Izeal Terrell, off a pass from Andrew Jones, gave Alton a 39-23 lead with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter. Sophomore Brennan Weller had a game-high 14 points for Edwardsville, with all of them coming in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Weller twisted his ankle in a collision under the basket. He played the rest of the quarter, but played only two minutes in the second half.
“We ran a lot of stuff for Brennan to get him shots and took advantage of that,” Battas said. “He got a little banged up there, so we had to shut him down in the second half, but he’ll be OK.”
Senior JaylonTuggle added eight points for the Tigers.
Edwardsville 36 percent (15 of 52) from the field, including 13 percent (2 of 17) from 3-point range.
“I thought our guys did a good job to taking what the defense gave us,” Battas said. Jaylon Tuggle was aggressive at time and Malik (Robinson) and Jalil (Roundtree) were also more assertive. I thought we finished shots around the rim.”
Jones, Josh Rivers, Ky’Lun Rivers and Moory Woods scored eight points apiece for Alton while Charles Miller added seven points. The Redbirds shot 55 percent (22 of 40) from the field, including 57 percent (12 of 21) from 3-point range.
“After the first couple minutes when we started being a little more active in our offense, we got some good stuff out of it,” Smith said.
Each team had eight turnovers. Alton returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with a nonconference game at Taylorville. The Redbirds finish the regular season with a pair of conference home games, Feb. 19 against Belleville West and Feb. 22 against O’Fallon.
SATURDAY'S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Alton pulls out Galesburg Shootout win over Rock Island - The Telegraph - 1/27/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
SATURDAY’S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Alton pulls out Galesburg Shootout win over Rock Island
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Updated
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) rises up in the lane for a shot over Edwardsville defenders during the Redbirds’ Southwestern Conference victory on Tuesday at Alton High in Godfrey. The Redbirds were in Galesburg
The 2018-19 Shootout Tour for Alton Redbirds boys basketball hit Galesburg on Saturday night.
And the Redbirds benefitted from some late drama to beat the Rock Island Rocks 59-55 in the Galesburg Shootout at John Thiel Gym.
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It was the third straight shootout victory for Alton since a Dec. 15 Ramey Shootout loss to Jennings in Webster Groves. The Redbirds beat Maine South at the Taylorville Shootout, Soldan at the SLUH/MLK Classic and now the Rocks to push Alton’s record to 16-8 and extend its winning streak to six in a row.
The Redbirds are back in shootout mode Friday to play Springfield Southeast at the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout at Panther Dome in O’Fallon. Southeast, ranked No. 3 in the Class 3A state poll, lost at Belleville West 74-73 on Saturday night to drop to 18-2.
Donovan Clay led the Redbirds past the Rocks in Galesburg with 23 points and seven rebounds. Alton, which led 24-23 at halftime, trailed by six points before getting within 39-38 after three quarters.
Rock Island would regain a six-point advantage at 44-38 before the Redbirds responded with a 13-3 run to go up 51-47. Alton’s lead was 51-50 with 26 seconds left when Clay missed two free throws. But a bench technical assessed on the Rocks, protesting an intentional foul call committed on Clay’s shot, sent Malik Smith to the line for two makes. A basket on the ensuing possession pushed Alton’s lead to five and the Rocks’ late surge came up short.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Redbirds rally from quick 17-4 deficit to beat Tigers - The Telegraph - 1/23/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Redbirds rally from quick 17-4 deficit to beat Tigers
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack | The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 5
Alton’s Josh Rivers (right) drives the baseline on Edwardsville’s Brennan Weller on Tuesday night in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game at Alton High in Godfrey.
GODFREY – The Edwardsville Tigers came in as the worst scoring boys basketball team in the Southwestern Conference.
For the opening three minutes Tuesday night, they looked like the league’s best. “We made them look pretty good, didn’t we,” Alton coach Eric Smith said.
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Edwardsville put Alton down by 14 points early, but the Redbirds rallied to beat the Tigers 61-49 in a SWC matchup at Alton High. The Redbirds extended their winning streak to six in a row while pushing their record to 15-8 and 4-3 in the conference.
Four of Alton’s five on-court defeats – three others came by forfeit — have come against state-ranked SWC foes Belleville West (twice) and East St. Louis (twice).
Edwardsville, which has been held to fewer than 40 points in a game eight times and averages 42.5 per game, was brilliant off the opening tip. A pair of 3-pointers from Brennan Weller and a trey from A.J. Robertson in between triggered a surge that left the Tigers up 17-4 after a Malik Robinson basket with 4:48 left in the quarter.
Only then did a reluctant Eric Smith call a timeout to slow the Tigers, who had won five of their previous six visits to AHS.
“They’ve got to figure a way to play through stuff,” Smith said of his team. “In that situation, if it’s something scheme-wise that we need to fix, then I’ll call timeout. But if it’s just lack of effort, they’re going to have to fight their way through it.”
The Redbirds would do just that. Dunks from Donovan Clay and Moory Woods fired up the home crowd and helped the Redbirds get within 19-14 after one quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Clay and Malik Smith opened the second quarter and Edwardsville’s lead had vanished.
“Really good start, really proud of our guys,” first-year Tigers coach Dustin Battas said. “Our preparation was good. To get off to a start like that, they really executed a lot of things we’ve been practicing. Alton’s a tremendous team, they’re really good. So to come here, it’s a bit of a rivalry over the years, we’re really proud of our start.”
The Tigers were down 28-27 at the half and the Redbirds immediately attacked the rim for baskets on three early possessions in the third quarter. “That was the emphasis,” Eric Smith said of driving the lane rather than settling for 3-pointers.
Alton took a 42-37 lead to the fourth quarter and the Tigers would get no closer than five points. Clay led the Redbirds with 19 points, while Woods scored 12 points and Malik Smith finished with 11.
It was the fourth game in five days for the Redbirds, who impressed in victories over previously unbeaten Trinity Catholic on Friday and Chaminade on Saturady to win the Belleville East Tournament. But victories Monday over Soldan (75-71 in OT) and Tuesday over Edwardsville earned no applause for the coach.
“The last two nights, it’s been a struggle for us,” Smith said. “Offensively, it just looks bad because we take the easy way out instead of grinding out possessions. Defensively, we’re just a step late to everything. (The Tigers) just cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. We didn’t jump to the ball, get to our spots, get to where we’re supposed to be. … They play hard. They run good offense, their kids cut hard, they move hard. I don’t know, maybe we messed up by trying to play four games in five days.”
The loss drops Edwardsville’s record to 5-13 and 0-6 in the SWC. The Tigers have 10 games remaining to pick up the five victories needed to avoid their first single-digit win season since going 9-14 in coach Bud Vallino’s final year in 1988. And the 0-6 start in league play is Edwardsville’s worst since before leaving the SWC in 1979.
Edwardsville could not match Alton’s firepower, but the battle of executing a game plan was a victory for the Tigers.
“I would say the entirety of the game,” Battas said of his team doing as asked. “We executed our set plays well, we handled their pressure for the most part and got open shots. I just thought in the second half, especially the third quarter, it just came down to them making some shots. … They just have good players and Eric does a great job of putting them in places that make you come a long way to help. And they’ve got guys who can shoot.”
Nic Hemken scored 15 points to lead three Tigers in double figures. Weller scored 14 points and Jaylon Tuggle finished with 11 points. And Battas continues to see progress.
“If you watched our games since the beginning of the year, we really struggled to get into offense,” Battas said. “I know we missed shots, but to execute the things we did in the second half is night and day from where we were a month ago. We’ve really come a long way of handling pressure.”
And Battas praised his team’s approach through adversity.
“We’ve practiced well this whole time,” he said. “To the credit of our guys, they come to practice every day and you would have no idea if you came or our practice that we have only won a handful of games.”
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Alton survives in OT, beats Soldan in MLK Classic - The Telegraph - 1/22/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Alton survives in OT, beats Soldan in MLK Classic
Redbirds beat Soldan in MLK Classic
Louie Korac For The Telegraph
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 4
Alton’s Josh Rivers (left) draws a foul on a Soldan defender on a shot in the lane in the fourth quarter Monday night in fourth annual SLUH/MLK Classic in St. Louis. The Redbirds won 75-71 in overtime.
ST. LOUIS — Winning a tourney title at Belleville East on Saturday was the climax for a solid week of basketball for the Alton Redbirds.
But for the players, a real test came Monday, just two days later, to see how the Redbirds would be able to move on and bounce back with a business as usual attitude.
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The Redbirds were able to pass the test but not without some adversity, allowing a 17-point lead to slip away before rallying for a 75-71 overtime win over the Soldan (Mo) Tigers at the SLUH/MLK Basketball Classic at Danis Field House.
Alton (14-8) led at one point 29-12 and seemed destined to another impressive win following three wins last week to win the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East. But Soldan (12-7) fought back and actually led by five (39-34) at one point and 45-41 heading into the fourth quarter before Alton got 16 points after halftime from Malik Smith, who finished with 19, and Donovan Clay finished with a game-high 24 points, including 18 in the second half and overtime.
“We just didn’t really come to play in the first half and the third quarter,” Smith said. “We were taking a lot of bad shots in the first half. We were just being selfish. I guess we kind of pulled it together, but we really didn’t. We let the shooter get wide open shots, back-to-back plays. It was just bad.”
Alton coach Eric Smith normally would say a win is a win and move on, but after squandering such a big lead early, then a pair of six-point leads late, Smith said the Redbirds got out-toughed.
“They’re tougher than we are,” Eric Smith said of Soldan. “They got to loose balls, they got rebounds. Once they decided to put the ball on the floor and go to the basket, they did it and we didn’t play very smart.
“This is what we talked to the kids about. These are the kind of games that show how good a basketball team you are. The good teams in our conference that are just beating people, don’t come out and win a tournament the next night and don’t lose a 17-point lead and not play hard. That’s the difference between us and everybody else right now. Everybody says we’re a good basketball team, and I think we’re a good basketball team, but I think we do have some questions about our toughness right now.”
Alton would use a pair of 11-0 runs in the game, going up 11-2 early in the first quarter with efficient ball movement and the ability to get the rim with authority, and another 11-0 run to turn a 13-8 lead in the first to 24-8 into the second quarter. They had control early.
But the Tigers climbed back within seven at halftime, using an 11-1 run of their own to turn a 29-12 deficit into a 30-23 Redbirds lead, thanks to Ryan Torey’s 11 points, including three 3’s coming off the bench. And the Tigers opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to tie the game 32-32 with 5 minutes 27 seconds remaining before then going on another 7-2 run to go up by five.
“I guess guys were tired or whatever they were, but the defensive end looked sloppy today,” Malik Smith said. “Standing in front of people was one thing, but we just didn’t guard very well.”
Malik Smith, who was 0 for 6 shooting through three quarters, scored 10 points in the fourth on 4 of 4 from the floor, and getting to the rim was key.
“The first half, I was really focusing more on the outside shot,” Malik Smith said. “At halftime, coach gave us a talk. We had to pull it together or they were going to beat us. I felt like I had to step up and play a big role and help by team win a game.
“Whenever we attack the basket, it opens up a lot more things. The 3-pointer, instead of being contested, you’re wide open, and we were able to knock down those shots. But we had them down and we’ve got to learn to keep that momentum going.”
Alton got it back and once the Redbirds got the lead in overtime, they were able to withstand one last-ditch effort by the Tigers, who got 15 points from Jesse Little and 14 from James Little.
“I think we’re more skilled than they were,” said Eric Smith, who also got 18 points from Moory Woods. “We’re a more skilled basketball team than what we saw tonight. They were just tougher, and the toughness almost beat the skill tonight.”
Alton won’t have time to dwell on it. The Redbirds get back on the court Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at home against Edwardsville in conference play.
SATURDAY'S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Redbirds take down defending champ Chaminade at East Tourney - The Telegraph - 9/20/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
SATURDAY’S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Redbirds take down defending champ Chaminade at East Tourney
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 9
Alton’s Josh Rivers (12) is fouled while going up for a shot over Chaminade’s Harrison Vickers (24) and Tarris Reed Jr. (back) on Saturday night in the Belleville East Tournament championship game in
Successive 3-pointers from Ky’lun Rivers, Donovan Clay and Clay again to open the third quarter extended a one-point lead to 10 and sent the Redbirds to a 67-59 boys basketball victory over the Red Devils in the championship game of the Belleville East Tournament.
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Alton improves to 13-8 and continues a busy stretch with games Monday against Soldan in a shootout at Saint Louis U High and Tuesday at home against Edwardsville. Chaminade, the two-time defending tourney champion, drops to 9-6.
Malik Smith, who missed three games for undisclosed cause, before returning to the lineup for tourney play in Belleville, capped his all-tourney team week by scoring 19 points against the Devils. Rivers scored 13 points and Andrew Jones added 10 points for Alton.
The Redbirds labored early in the game, settling for quick 3s without much success. Jones halted that trend by getting some penetration through the lane to help trigger a second-quarter surge that gained Alton a 29-23 halftime lead.
Chaminade would draw within one point after three quarters, but the Redbirds’ Rivers-Clay-Clay 3 spree ignited a 27-point fourth quarter that put away the Devils. Alton, which went 9 of 28 from 3-point range, got eight points – all in the second half — from tournament MVP Clay.
Luke Kasubke, who averages 23 points per game, scored 15 points to lead Chaminade. Tarris Reed Jr., a 6-7 freshman, scored 14 points and Matteus Case had 13 points for the Devils.
Three 3's in Flyers "spurt" dooms Redbirds - The Telegraph - 1/9/2019
Updated on 06/10/2022
Three 3’s in Flyers’ ‘spurt’ dooms Redbirds
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack | The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 4
GODFREY – East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers called it “spurtability.”
The Flyers hit three 3-pointers in successive possessions in a 90-second stretch late in the third quarter to break open a tie game and beat the Alton Redbirds 58-49 on Tuesday night.
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“That’s kind of how our team goes,” Chambers said. “We can go on spurts. I see these guys in practice go on spurts. When we do that, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
The Southwestern Conference victory pushed East Side’s record to 12-5 and 5-1 in the league. Alton is 10-8 and 3-3 in the SWC.
“We played hard,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “Our execution on stuff just wasn’t the best. But we haven’t necessarily been in tough games in tough environments. We just have too many plays at crucial times that aren’t the best. Like tonight, the run that they had is us turning the ball over and taking contested shots.”
The Redbirds got another big night from 6-foot-7 senior Donovan Clay, who finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Anytime you’ve got a player of his stature, you know that he’s going to come,” Chambers said of Clay. “We game planned for him. Our main thing, with any team we play, we do what we do and if we do it well, we’ll be OK. He brought it to us, but we were able to pull out a victory.”
Saint Louis University recruit Terrance Hargrove, a 6-7 senior, scored 19 points to lead the Flyers, who are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 3A state poll released earlier Tuesday. Cornelius Leflore added 10 points for East Side.
It was Leflore who hit the game-changing treys for the Flyers. “He’s done it before,” Smith said of Leflore. “He comes in, he shoots it.”
After Clay’s 3 tied it at 31 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Leflore answered with two quick – and long – 3-pointers before Hargrove hit another 3.
Bang, bang, bang, the Flyers were up 40-31.
An Alton turnover and Hargrove’s bucket off an inbounds play made the lead 11 points (42-31) before Clay hit two free throws from an East Side technical to make the Flyers’ lead 42-33 after three quarters.
“Turnovers and not rebounding,” Smith said of the Alton’s contributions to East Side’ 11-2 run to end the quarter.
The Redbirds trimmed the deficit to eight points (46-38) on Clay’s three-point play with 5:04 left, but would get no closer until Andrew Jones and Moory Woods connected from the arc late in the game.
Woods finished with eight points and Jones added seven for the Redbirds, who led 12-10 after one quarter and held that two-point lead at halftime up 22-20.
“Not necessarily the pace we like, but I think that’s the pace we have to play with right now,” Smith said of a lineup still missing three starters. “That was a big key tonight. We just wore down.”
Now, the Redbirds shift focus to their biggest rival when the Edwardsville Tigers visit AHS Friday night in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader. It will be the first time in 30 years that Mike Waldo will not be on the bench as Edwardsville coach against the Redbirds. Edwardsville is 3-11 and rebuilding under first-year coach Dustin Battas.
“It’s always an interesting week,” Smith said of the lead up to playing Edwardsville. “Everybody gets excited for that game.”
GODFREY – East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers called it “spurtability.”
The Flyers hit three 3-pointers in successive possessions in a 90-second stretch late in the third quarter to break open a tie game and beat the Alton Redbirds 58-49 on Tuesday night.
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“That’s kind of how our team goes,” Chambers said. “We can go on spurts. I see these guys in practice go on spurts. When we do that, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
The Southwestern Conference victory pushed East Side’s record to 12-5 and 5-1 in the league. Alton is 10-8 and 3-3 in the SWC.
“We played hard,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “Our execution on stuff just wasn’t the best. But we haven’t necessarily been in tough games in tough environments. We just have too many plays at crucial times that aren’t the best. Like tonight, the run that they had is us turning the ball over and taking contested shots.”
The Redbirds got another big night from 6-foot-7 senior Donovan Clay, who finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Anytime you’ve got a player of his stature, you know that he’s going to come,” Chambers said of Clay. “We game planned for him. Our main thing, with any team we play, we do what we do and if we do it well, we’ll be OK. He brought it to us, but we were able to pull out a victory.”
Saint Louis University recruit Terrance Hargrove, a 6-7 senior, scored 19 points to lead the Flyers, who are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 3A state poll released earlier Tuesday. Cornelius Leflore added 10 points for East Side.
It was Leflore who hit the game-changing treys for the Flyers. “He’s done it before,” Smith said of Leflore. “He comes in, he shoots it.”
After Clay’s 3 tied it at 31 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Leflore answered with two quick – and long – 3-pointers before Hargrove hit another 3.
Bang, bang, bang, the Flyers were up 40-31.
An Alton turnover and Hargrove’s bucket off an inbounds play made the lead 11 points (42-31) before Clay hit two free throws from an East Side technical to make the Flyers’ lead 42-33 after three quarters.
“Turnovers and not rebounding,” Smith said of the Alton’s contributions to East Side’ 11-2 run to end the quarter.
The Redbirds trimmed the deficit to eight points (46-38) on Clay’s three-point play with 5:04 left, but would get no closer until Andrew Jones and Moory Woods connected from the arc late in the game.
Woods finished with eight points and Jones added seven for the Redbirds, who led 12-10 after one quarter and held that two-point lead at halftime up 22-20.
“Not necessarily the pace we like, but I think that’s the pace we have to play with right now,” Smith said of a lineup still missing three starters. “That was a big key tonight. We just wore down.”
Now, the Redbirds shift focus to their biggest rival when the Edwardsville Tigers visit AHS Friday night in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader. It will be the first time in 30 years that Mike Waldo will not be on the bench as Edwardsville coach against the Redbirds. Edwardsville is 3-11 and rebuilding under first-year coach Dustin Battas.
“It’s always an interesting week,” Smith said of the lead up to playing Edwardsville. “Everybody gets excited for that game.”
GODFREY – East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers called it “spurtability.”
The Flyers hit three 3-pointers in successive possessions in a 90-second stretch late in the third quarter to break open a tie game and beat the Alton Redbirds 58-49 on Tuesday night.
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“That’s kind of how our team goes,” Chambers said. “We can go on spurts. I see these guys in practice go on spurts. When we do that, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
The Southwestern Conference victory pushed East Side’s record to 12-5 and 5-1 in the league. Alton is 10-8 and 3-3 in the SWC.
“We played hard,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “Our execution on stuff just wasn’t the best. But we haven’t necessarily been in tough games in tough environments. We just have too many plays at crucial times that aren’t the best. Like tonight, the run that they had is us turning the ball over and taking contested shots.”
The Redbirds got another big night from 6-foot-7 senior Donovan Clay, who finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Anytime you’ve got a player of his stature, you know that he’s going to come,” Chambers said of Clay. “We game planned for him. Our main thing, with any team we play, we do what we do and if we do it well, we’ll be OK. He brought it to us, but we were able to pull out a victory.”
Saint Louis University recruit Terrance Hargrove, a 6-7 senior, scored 19 points to lead the Flyers, who are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 3A state poll released earlier Tuesday. Cornelius Leflore added 10 points for East Side.
It was Leflore who hit the game-changing treys for the Flyers. “He’s done it before,” Smith said of Leflore. “He comes in, he shoots it.”
After Clay’s 3 tied it at 31 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Leflore answered with two quick – and long – 3-pointers before Hargrove hit another 3.
Bang, bang, bang, the Flyers were up 40-31.
An Alton turnover and Hargrove’s bucket off an inbounds play made the lead 11 points (42-31) before Clay hit two free throws from an East Side technical to make the Flyers’ lead 42-33 after three quarters.
“Turnovers and not rebounding,” Smith said of the Alton’s contributions to East Side’ 11-2 run to end the quarter.
The Redbirds trimmed the deficit to eight points (46-38) on Clay’s three-point play with 5:04 left, but would get no closer until Andrew Jones and Moory Woods connected from the arc late in the game.
Woods finished with eight points and Jones added seven for the Redbirds, who led 12-10 after one quarter and held that two-point lead at halftime up 22-20.
“Not necessarily the pace we like, but I think that’s the pace we have to play with right now,” Smith said of a lineup still missing three starters. “That was a big key tonight. We just wore down.”
Now, the Redbirds shift focus to their biggest rival when the Edwardsville Tigers visit AHS Friday night in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader. It will be the first time in 30 years that Mike Waldo will not be on the bench as Edwardsville coach against the Redbirds. Edwardsville is 3-11 and rebuilding under first-year coach Dustin Battas.
“It’s always an interesting week,” Smith said of the lead up to playing Edwardsville. “Everybody gets excited for that game.”
GODFREY – East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers called it “spurtability.”
The Flyers hit three 3-pointers in successive possessions in a 90-second stretch late in the third quarter to break open a tie game and beat the Alton Redbirds 58-49 on Tuesday night.
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“That’s kind of how our team goes,” Chambers said. “We can go on spurts. I see these guys in practice go on spurts. When we do that, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
The Southwestern Conference victory pushed East Side’s record to 12-5 and 5-1 in the league. Alton is 10-8 and 3-3 in the SWC.
“We played hard,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “Our execution on stuff just wasn’t the best. But we haven’t necessarily been in tough games in tough environments. We just have too many plays at crucial times that aren’t the best. Like tonight, the run that they had is us turning the ball over and taking contested shots.”
The Redbirds got another big night from 6-foot-7 senior Donovan Clay, who finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Anytime you’ve got a player of his stature, you know that he’s going to come,” Chambers said of Clay. “We game planned for him. Our main thing, with any team we play, we do what we do and if we do it well, we’ll be OK. He brought it to us, but we were able to pull out a victory.”
Saint Louis University recruit Terrance Hargrove, a 6-7 senior, scored 19 points to lead the Flyers, who are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 3A state poll released earlier Tuesday. Cornelius Leflore added 10 points for East Side.
It was Leflore who hit the game-changing treys for the Flyers. “He’s done it before,” Smith said of Leflore. “He comes in, he shoots it.”
After Clay’s 3 tied it at 31 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Leflore answered with two quick – and long – 3-pointers before Hargrove hit another 3.
Bang, bang, bang, the Flyers were up 40-31.
An Alton turnover and Hargrove’s bucket off an inbounds play made the lead 11 points (42-31) before Clay hit two free throws from an East Side technical to make the Flyers’ lead 42-33 after three quarters.
“Turnovers and not rebounding,” Smith said of the Alton’s contributions to East Side’ 11-2 run to end the quarter.
The Redbirds trimmed the deficit to eight points (46-38) on Clay’s three-point play with 5:04 left, but would get no closer until Andrew Jones and Moory Woods connected from the arc late in the game.
Woods finished with eight points and Jones added seven for the Redbirds, who led 12-10 after one quarter and held that two-point lead at halftime up 22-20.
“Not necessarily the pace we like, but I think that’s the pace we have to play with right now,” Smith said of a lineup still missing three starters. “That was a big key tonight. We just wore down.”
Now, the Redbirds shift focus to their biggest rival when the Edwardsville Tigers visit AHS Friday night in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader. It will be the first time in 30 years that Mike Waldo will not be on the bench as Edwardsville coach against the Redbirds. Edwardsville is 3-11 and rebuilding under first-year coach Dustin Battas.
“It’s always an interesting week,” Smith said of the lead up to playing Edwardsville. “Everybody gets excited for that game.”
GODFREY – East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers called it “spurtability.”
The Flyers hit three 3-pointers in successive possessions in a 90-second stretch late in the third quarter to break open a tie game and beat the Alton Redbirds 58-49 on Tuesday night.
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“That’s kind of how our team goes,” Chambers said. “We can go on spurts. I see these guys in practice go on spurts. When we do that, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
The Southwestern Conference victory pushed East Side’s record to 12-5 and 5-1 in the league. Alton is 10-8 and 3-3 in the SWC.
“We played hard,” Alton coach Eric Smith said. “Our execution on stuff just wasn’t the best. But we haven’t necessarily been in tough games in tough environments. We just have too many plays at crucial times that aren’t the best. Like tonight, the run that they had is us turning the ball over and taking contested shots.”
The Redbirds got another big night from 6-foot-7 senior Donovan Clay, who finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Anytime you’ve got a player of his stature, you know that he’s going to come,” Chambers said of Clay. “We game planned for him. Our main thing, with any team we play, we do what we do and if we do it well, we’ll be OK. He brought it to us, but we were able to pull out a victory.”
Saint Louis University recruit Terrance Hargrove, a 6-7 senior, scored 19 points to lead the Flyers, who are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 3A state poll released earlier Tuesday. Cornelius Leflore added 10 points for East Side.
It was Leflore who hit the game-changing treys for the Flyers. “He’s done it before,” Smith said of Leflore. “He comes in, he shoots it.”
After Clay’s 3 tied it at 31 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, Leflore answered with two quick – and long – 3-pointers before Hargrove hit another 3.
Bang, bang, bang, the Flyers were up 40-31.
An Alton turnover and Hargrove’s bucket off an inbounds play made the lead 11 points (42-31) before Clay hit two free throws from an East Side technical to make the Flyers’ lead 42-33 after three quarters.
“Turnovers and not rebounding,” Smith said of the Alton’s contributions to East Side’ 11-2 run to end the quarter.
The Redbirds trimmed the deficit to eight points (46-38) on Clay’s three-point play with 5:04 left, but would get no closer until Andrew Jones and Moory Woods connected from the arc late in the game.
Woods finished with eight points and Jones added seven for the Redbirds, who led 12-10 after one quarter and held that two-point lead at halftime up 22-20.
“Not necessarily the pace we like, but I think that’s the pace we have to play with right now,” Smith said of a lineup still missing three starters. “That was a big key tonight. We just wore down.”
Now, the Redbirds shift focus to their biggest rival when the Edwardsville Tigers visit AHS Friday night in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader. It will be the first time in 30 years that Mike Waldo will not be on the bench as Edwardsville coach against the Redbirds. Edwardsville is 3-11 and rebuilding under first-year coach Dustin Battas.
“It’s always an interesting week,” Smith said of the lead up to playing Edwardsville. “Everybody gets excited for that game.”
BELLEVILLE – His red Alton Redbirds jersey remained the same, but Malik Smith took on a dramatic role change at halftime.
From first-half distributor to second-half scorer, Smith teamed with Donovan Clay to power the Redbirds past the Belleville East Lancers 73-61 in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game Tuesday night at East.
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“I was really trying to get my team involved,” Malik Smith said of his assists that helped stake Alton to a 32-19 lead at the half. “Because I’m a leader and it’s my job to get everybody else involved and get them going. I got myself involved in the second half.”
With both teams getting hot from the arc, Smith scored 20 of his 24 points in the final two quarters without a single miss. The 6-foot-3 senior made all eight of his shots from the field, including four from 3-point range, to finish 10 of 12 for the game.
Smith credited his teammates with finding him in open space and “I was able to knock down some 3’s,” he said.
The victory evened Alton’s record at 5-5 – including three forfeit losses – and pushed the Redbirds’ SWC mark to 3-1. East is 6-5 and 3-2 in the league.
Coming off a lackluster loss to Jennings on Saturday in a shootout at Webster Groves, the Redbirds returned to their blueprint against the Lancers. Penetration in the lane – paint touches, coach Eric Smith calls them – and either get to the rim or kick out for open perimeter shots. The Redbirds repeated the formula at East and shot 66 percent (27 of 41) from the field, including 8 of 16 from the arc.
“We got paint touches,” Eric Smith said. “Early, we didn’t shoot a whole lot of contested shots. This isn’t necessarily where we want to be, obviously, but this was better offensively than we’ve been in a couple weeks.”
While most of Malik Smith’s offense came in the second half, Clay was a four-quarters offensive threat for the Redbirds. The 6-foot-7 guard turned in a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Clay made 7 of 11 shots from the field, including 2 of 5 3-pointers. After missing his first free throws, Clay converted 9 of his last 10 from the line.
The Redbirds also found offense from Ky’Lun Rivers with nine points and Moory Woods with eight.
“We shared the ball a little bit better,” Eric Smith said. “The last couple games – we got lucky against Collinsville – we’ve taken a lot of contested 3’s. You can see when we shoot open jumpers, we shoot the ball pretty well.”
Izeal Terrell, who will sign to play college football at Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, converted a three-point play in the final seconds of the first quarter to put Alton up 12-5. The Redbirds’ lead reached double digits at 17-5 on Rivers’ 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
East, which made 8 of 23 shots in the first half, got its offense in gear in the third quarter. The Lancers and Redbirds combined to make seven 3-pointers in the final 4:42 of the third quarter, but every East punch was met with an Alton counter-punch.
“They were a little bit more aggressive,” Eric Smith said of the Lancers offensive surge. “They just decided they were going to put their head down and go to the basket. We didn’t put up much of a fight for a little bit. And when we decided to put up a fight, they’re already feeling pretty good and they had some rhythm and that makes it a little bit harder.”
The Lancers would draw within eight points (56-48) with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Alton responded with a Malik Smith trey and three free throws from Clay to grow the lead back to 14 points and the margin never again saw single digits.
“It’s the way we play, the other team’s going to go on a run,” Eric Smith said. “I think the same thing happened tonight, they eventually wear down, which is a good sign for us because we’re only playing seven kids right now.”
East got 20 points from Malik Williams, including 16 in the second half, 16 points from Jared Adams and 12 points, all in the second half, from Isaiah May. The Lancers made 16 of 23 shots after halftime, but could not get a stop on Malik Smith, who scored 14 points in the game’s final six minutes.
“If he’s going to shoot a rhythm, uncontested jumper,” Eric Smith said of Malik Smith, “it’s over.”
Redbirds can't repeat, fall to Jennings in shootout - The Telegraph - 12/16/2018
Updated on 06/10/2022
Redbirds can’t repeat, fall to Jennings in shootout
Alton flat in shootout loss to Jennings
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Updated
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) heads upcourt on the break ahead of Jennings’ Donnel Carter (1), Trevon Lane (3) and Vernell Sims (right) while the Redbirds’ Drew Jones trails the play Saturday afternoon at the
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – The grit that carried the Alton Redbirds to a dramatic Southwestern Conference victory Friday night failed to make it across the river Saturday afternoon.
Repeated Redbird threats fell short in the second half and the Jennings Warriors beat Alton 60-55 in the Ramey Shootout at Webster Groves High School.
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The Redbirds, who scored off an inbounds play at the buzzer to beat Collinsville a night earlier, trailed for most of their shootout date with the Warriors and dropped to 4-5. Jennings is 5-1.
“As tough as we were last night,” Alton coach Eric Smith said, “we were pretty much the opposite today.”
The Redbirds bench, left short with the ongoing suspension of seven players from an incident in their third game, got shorter Saturday with Izeal Terrell fulfilling a previous commitment to make his official visit to Southeast Missouri before signing a football scholarship with the Redhawks.
Alton used just six players against Jennings, but the deficiencies went beyond manpower for the Redbirds.
“I just think we didn’t work hard enough as a team,” Alton’s Donovan Clay said. “Everybody wouldn’t buy in. We’re short and that makes it hard, but it’s no excuse. We’ve still got the pieces to win big games like this.”
The 6-foot-7 Clay did his part, hitting 9 of 9 free throws and scoring 25 points. Malik Smith and Ky’lun Rivers both scored 10 points and Moory Woods added eight points for the Redbirds.
“We took some bad, bad shots today,” Eric Smith said.
Jennings led 28-24 at halftime and took that four-point margin to the fourth quarter with a 44-40 lead after Clay scored five unanswered points in the final minute of the third quarter to cut into the Warriors’ biggest lead at nine points.
But with the Redbirds going scoreless in the first four minutes of the final period, Jennings grew the lead back to eight. Malik Smith’s 3-pointer with six seconds left got Alton within 58-55, but the Warriors survived.
“There were breakdowns,” Eric Smith said of his team’s inability to ever regain a lead after the second quarter. “Just plays you’ve got to make if you want to win a game.”
Elijah Hicks scored 22 points to lead Jennings, with Donnell Carter and Trevon Love both scoring 11 for the Warriors.
“Games like today are the difference whether are you going to win 23, 24 games or are you going to 14, 15 games?,” Eric Smith said. “You can’t let these types of games go by the wayside. You have to take advantage of your opportunities. Are you tough enough to come back and win a game like this at 2 o’clock on a Saturday?”
The Redbirds were not on this Saturday and their coach said the reasons were not on the bench in street clothes.
“We can talk about how difficult it is,” Smith said. “But the frustrating part for us is we didn’t run a single set correctly today. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got 30 kids.
The suspensions depleting the roster will extend into the Centralia Holiday Tournament, when some of the players are expected back after the first round. Until then, the Redbirds must adjust and overcome adversity. “We don’t have any other choice,” Smith said.
And winning with the players available, Clay insists, should be the result.
“We’ve got to play through it and we’ve got to play hard,” Clay said. “Like I said, we’ve got the pieces. We’ve got to put it together and everybody has to buy in. When we do that, we’ll come out with some W’s.”
Redbirds can’t repeat, fall to Jennings in shootout
Alton flat in shootout loss to Jennings
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Updated
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) heads upcourt on the break ahead of Jennings’ Donnel Carter (1), Trevon Lane (3) and Vernell Sims (right) while the Redbirds’ Drew Jones trails the play Saturday afternoon at the
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – The grit that carried the Alton Redbirds to a dramatic Southwestern Conference victory Friday night failed to make it across the river Saturday afternoon.
Repeated Redbird threats fell short in the second half and the Jennings Warriors beat Alton 60-55 in the Ramey Shootout at Webster Groves High School.
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The Redbirds, who scored off an inbounds play at the buzzer to beat Collinsville a night earlier, trailed for most of their shootout date with the Warriors and dropped to 4-5. Jennings is 5-1.
“As tough as we were last night,” Alton coach Eric Smith said, “we were pretty much the opposite today.”
The Redbirds bench, left short with the ongoing suspension of seven players from an incident in their third game, got shorter Saturday with Izeal Terrell fulfilling a previous commitment to make his official visit to Southeast Missouri before signing a football scholarship with the Redhawks.
Alton used just six players against Jennings, but the deficiencies went beyond manpower for the Redbirds.
“I just think we didn’t work hard enough as a team,” Alton’s Donovan Clay said. “Everybody wouldn’t buy in. We’re short and that makes it hard, but it’s no excuse. We’ve still got the pieces to win big games like this.”
The 6-foot-7 Clay did his part, hitting 9 of 9 free throws and scoring 25 points. Malik Smith and Ky’lun Rivers both scored 10 points and Moory Woods added eight points for the Redbirds.
“We took some bad, bad shots today,” Eric Smith said.
Jennings led 28-24 at halftime and took that four-point margin to the fourth quarter with a 44-40 lead after Clay scored five unanswered points in the final minute of the third quarter to cut into the Warriors’ biggest lead at nine points.
But with the Redbirds going scoreless in the first four minutes of the final period, Jennings grew the lead back to eight. Malik Smith’s 3-pointer with six seconds left got Alton within 58-55, but the Warriors survived.
“There were breakdowns,” Eric Smith said of his team’s inability to ever regain a lead after the second quarter. “Just plays you’ve got to make if you want to win a game.”
Elijah Hicks scored 22 points to lead Jennings, with Donnell Carter and Trevon Love both scoring 11 for the Warriors.
“Games like today are the difference whether are you going to win 23, 24 games or are you going to 14, 15 games?,” Eric Smith said. “You can’t let these types of games go by the wayside. You have to take advantage of your opportunities. Are you tough enough to come back and win a game like this at 2 o’clock on a Saturday?”
The Redbirds were not on this Saturday and their coach said the reasons were not on the bench in street clothes.
“We can talk about how difficult it is,” Smith said. “But the frustrating part for us is we didn’t run a single set correctly today. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got 30 kids.
The suspensions depleting the roster will extend into the Centralia Holiday Tournament, when some of the players are expected back after the first round. Until then, the Redbirds must adjust and overcome adversity. “We don’t have any other choice,” Smith said.
And winning with the players available, Clay insists, should be the result.
“We’ve got to play through it and we’ve got to play hard,” Clay said. “Like I said, we’ve got the pieces. We’ve got to put it together and everybody has to buy in. When we do that, we’ll come out with some W’s.”
Redbirds can’t repeat, fall to Jennings in shootout
Alton flat in shootout loss to Jennings
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Updated
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) heads upcourt on the break ahead of Jennings’ Donnel Carter (1), Trevon Lane (3) and Vernell Sims (right) while the Redbirds’ Drew Jones trails the play Saturday afternoon at the
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – The grit that carried the Alton Redbirds to a dramatic Southwestern Conference victory Friday night failed to make it across the river Saturday afternoon.
Repeated Redbird threats fell short in the second half and the Jennings Warriors beat Alton 60-55 in the Ramey Shootout at Webster Groves High School.
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The Redbirds, who scored off an inbounds play at the buzzer to beat Collinsville a night earlier, trailed for most of their shootout date with the Warriors and dropped to 4-5. Jennings is 5-1.
“As tough as we were last night,” Alton coach Eric Smith said, “we were pretty much the opposite today.”
The Redbirds bench, left short with the ongoing suspension of seven players from an incident in their third game, got shorter Saturday with Izeal Terrell fulfilling a previous commitment to make his official visit to Southeast Missouri before signing a football scholarship with the Redhawks.
Alton used just six players against Jennings, but the deficiencies went beyond manpower for the Redbirds.
“I just think we didn’t work hard enough as a team,” Alton’s Donovan Clay said. “Everybody wouldn’t buy in. We’re short and that makes it hard, but it’s no excuse. We’ve still got the pieces to win big games like this.”
The 6-foot-7 Clay did his part, hitting 9 of 9 free throws and scoring 25 points. Malik Smith and Ky’lun Rivers both scored 10 points and Moory Woods added eight points for the Redbirds.
“We took some bad, bad shots today,” Eric Smith said.
Jennings led 28-24 at halftime and took that four-point margin to the fourth quarter with a 44-40 lead after Clay scored five unanswered points in the final minute of the third quarter to cut into the Warriors’ biggest lead at nine points.
But with the Redbirds going scoreless in the first four minutes of the final period, Jennings grew the lead back to eight. Malik Smith’s 3-pointer with six seconds left got Alton within 58-55, but the Warriors survived.
“There were breakdowns,” Eric Smith said of his team’s inability to ever regain a lead after the second quarter. “Just plays you’ve got to make if you want to win a game.”
Elijah Hicks scored 22 points to lead Jennings, with Donnell Carter and Trevon Love both scoring 11 for the Warriors.
“Games like today are the difference whether are you going to win 23, 24 games or are you going to 14, 15 games?,” Eric Smith said. “You can’t let these types of games go by the wayside. You have to take advantage of your opportunities. Are you tough enough to come back and win a game like this at 2 o’clock on a Saturday?”
The Redbirds were not on this Saturday and their coach said the reasons were not on the bench in street clothes.
“We can talk about how difficult it is,” Smith said. “But the frustrating part for us is we didn’t run a single set correctly today. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got 30 kids.
The suspensions depleting the roster will extend into the Centralia Holiday Tournament, when some of the players are expected back after the first round. Until then, the Redbirds must adjust and overcome adversity. “We don’t have any other choice,” Smith said.
And winning with the players available, Clay insists, should be the result.
“We’ve got to play through it and we’ve got to play hard,” Clay said. “Like I said, we’ve got the pieces. We’ve got to put it together and everybody has to buy in. When we do that, we’ll come out with some W’s.”
Redbirds can’t repeat, fall to Jennings in shootout
Alton flat in shootout loss to Jennings
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Updated
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) heads upcourt on the break ahead of Jennings’ Donnel Carter (1), Trevon Lane (3) and Vernell Sims (right) while the Redbirds’ Drew Jones trails the play Saturday afternoon at the
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – The grit that carried the Alton Redbirds to a dramatic Southwestern Conference victory Friday night failed to make it across the river Saturday afternoon.
Repeated Redbird threats fell short in the second half and the Jennings Warriors beat Alton 60-55 in the Ramey Shootout at Webster Groves High School.
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00:11
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The Redbirds, who scored off an inbounds play at the buzzer to beat Collinsville a night earlier, trailed for most of their shootout date with the Warriors and dropped to 4-5. Jennings is 5-1.
“As tough as we were last night,” Alton coach Eric Smith said, “we were pretty much the opposite today.”
The Redbirds bench, left short with the ongoing suspension of seven players from an incident in their third game, got shorter Saturday with Izeal Terrell fulfilling a previous commitment to make his official visit to Southeast Missouri before signing a football scholarship with the Redhawks.
Alton used just six players against Jennings, but the deficiencies went beyond manpower for the Redbirds.
“I just think we didn’t work hard enough as a team,” Alton’s Donovan Clay said. “Everybody wouldn’t buy in. We’re short and that makes it hard, but it’s no excuse. We’ve still got the pieces to win big games like this.”
The 6-foot-7 Clay did his part, hitting 9 of 9 free throws and scoring 25 points. Malik Smith and Ky’lun Rivers both scored 10 points and Moory Woods added eight points for the Redbirds.
“We took some bad, bad shots today,” Eric Smith said.
Jennings led 28-24 at halftime and took that four-point margin to the fourth quarter with a 44-40 lead after Clay scored five unanswered points in the final minute of the third quarter to cut into the Warriors’ biggest lead at nine points.
But with the Redbirds going scoreless in the first four minutes of the final period, Jennings grew the lead back to eight. Malik Smith’s 3-pointer with six seconds left got Alton within 58-55, but the Warriors survived.
“There were breakdowns,” Eric Smith said of his team’s inability to ever regain a lead after the second quarter. “Just plays you’ve got to make if you want to win a game.”
Elijah Hicks scored 22 points to lead Jennings, with Donnell Carter and Trevon Love both scoring 11 for the Warriors.
“Games like today are the difference whether are you going to win 23, 24 games or are you going to 14, 15 games?,” Eric Smith said. “You can’t let these types of games go by the wayside. You have to take advantage of your opportunities. Are you tough enough to come back and win a game like this at 2 o’clock on a Saturday?”
The Redbirds were not on this Saturday and their coach said the reasons were not on the bench in street clothes.
“We can talk about how difficult it is,” Smith said. “But the frustrating part for us is we didn’t run a single set correctly today. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got 30 kids.
The suspensions depleting the roster will extend into the Centralia Holiday Tournament, when some of the players are expected back after the first round. Until then, the Redbirds must adjust and overcome adversity. “We don’t have any other choice,” Smith said.
And winning with the players available, Clay insists, should be the result.
“We’ve got to play through it and we’ve got to play hard,” Clay said. “Like I said, we’ve got the pieces. We’ve got to put it together and everybody has to buy in. When we do that, we’ll come out with some W’s.”
Redbirds get back in game, use 20-0 start to bury Panthers - The Telegraph - 12/5/2018
Updated on 06/10/2022
Redbirds get back in game, use 20-0 start to bury Panthers
Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com
Published
Photo:
Greg Shashack / The Telegraph
IMAGE 1 OF 3
Alton’s Donovan Clay (right) goes up to block a shot by O’Fallon’s Isaiah Cook in the first half of the Redbirds’ 71-42 Southwestern Conference boys basketball victory on Friday night at Panther Dome in
O’FALLON – The Alton Redbirds embraced their return to normalcy on Friday night.
“It’s nice, obviously,” Alton coach Eric Smith said, “to see smiles on kids’ faces today.”
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After 10 days between games, including five with no practice, the Redbirds returned to basketball with fury in a devastating start that buried the O’Fallon Panthers 71-42 in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game at Panther Dome.
“We’ve been out for a while and to come together as a team and beat a team like this,” Alton senior Malik Smith said, “it is really great for us.”
Alton is 3-3 and 1-0 in the SWC. O’Fallon, which has lost 13 of its last 14 games with the Redbirds, drops to 2-3 and 0-2 in the conference.
It was the Redbirds’ first game since a Nov. 23 game with Riverview Gardens in the Alton Tournament was halted in the final seconds of the third quarter when a fight broke out between multiple members of both teams and carried into the bleachers among fans at Alton High.
Alton’s season was temporarily halted – the Redbirds forfeited three games – before Alton administrators decided to play on.
“It was really hard,” Malik Smith said of waiting on the verdict for his senior season. “We were waiting and ready to play. But that unfortunate event happened and it just took that away from us.”
The Redbirds dressed just nine players at O’Fallon. Six more sat on the bench in street clothes. Eric Smith said privacy issues prevent him from disclosing any discipline handed out for the fight. When asked if he could divulge how many were suspended for how long, Smith shook his head no. “I can’t say,” he said.
The answer was the same when asked if any players were kicked off the team or if all those disciplined would be back after serving suspensions.
The Redbirds certainly looked like a team focused on basketball in the game’s opening minutes. Malik Smith, Donovan Clay and Smith again knocked down 3-pointers on Alton’s first three possessions to put the Panthers down 9-0 after 100 seconds.
A 3-pointer from Moory Woods and another 3 from Malik Smith made it 17-0 with 4:30 left in the first quarter and Smith’s 12th point of the quarter put Alton up 20-0 after six minutes. It was an emotionally charged surge for the Redbirds, though Eric Smith downplayed that aspect.
“Open shots,” the coach said. “We got open shots because kids did their job and they were unselfish, they made the extra pass, they got paint touches.”
The Redbirds took a 30-14 lead to halftime and were never threatened. Malik Smith scored 21 points, Woods had 13, Ky’Lun Rivers and Andrew Jones both scored nine points and Clay finished with eight for Alton.
“A little bit different from what we’ve had in the past, we’ve been more of dribble drive and keep driving,” Eric Smith said. “The lineup we started the game with tonight are five kids that shoot the ball reasonably well – and some really, really well. … I don’t think we’re going to have a ton of problems scoring the basketball. But we’ve just got to try to stop people.”
The 3-pointers keyed Alton’s early push, but the Redbirds’ remain a team that prefers to get to the basket off the break. And fast breaks are born from defense.
“Our goal is to really play out in transition and to play in transition, you have to get stops,” Malik Smith said. “We say down in half-court defense – we really didn’t have that many players on the bench because we only have nine players – and we had to play half-court offense and it worked out.”
Despite the talent drain – for however long it may last – the Redbirds will stay true to their roots of playing hard and fast.
“I don’t think we change what we do,” Eric Smith said. “I just think we change the length of time that we do things. We’ll still press people.”
But instead of going “100 miles an hour for 32 minutes.” Smith said. “Defensively, we’ll kind of pick our spots where we chase people.”
