Edwardsville Has Excellent Effort But O'Fallon Free Throw Shooting Makes Difference As Panthers Defeat Tigers 49-40

EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville had an outstanding defensive effort, shutting down O'Fallon's top three scorers throughout the game, but free-throw shooting proved to be the difference, as the Panthers hit 13 of 16 from the line in going on to a 49-40 win over the Tigers in the nightcap of a girls-boys basketball doubleheader Friday night at Lucco-Jackson Gym.

The Panthers, playing with a lead in the fourth quarter, took a page from former coach Mike Waldo's book and went into a slowdown game through most of the period, forcing Edwardsville to foul. O'Fallon was able to capitalize on the free throws in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

"I think that's a compliment to our quarter-court defense," said Tiger head coach Dustin Battas. "We've noticed that last year and this year, teams don't really want to play against us when they have a lead. Coach Waldo is the mastermind of that, and it's hard for us to go chase athletic teams, and that's to their advantage. And what happened late is what happened. They spread us out, they get to the basket, they made their free throws. They were, I think, 13-of-16 at the line, and some of those guys were under 50 percent that made them, but we missed a lot more than they did. And I told our guys at halftime we tried so hard. During halftime, a couple of our assistant coaches just mentioned how hard our guys were trying. But our room for error is not very big. So missing free throws comes back to bite you. They made theirs, so we're right there. I told our guys that's a really good team, and they beat a really good team, just gotta play a little bit better. But we did a lot of things good to give ourselves a chance."

The Tigers did a great job of holding the Panthers' top three scorers in check for much of the game.

"I'm really proud of our defense," Battas said. "(Shaun Riley II) score six points, (Dawson Algee) rode us in the post, he got four, (Drew Tebbe) didn't score. Those guys combined average over 30 points together. So, we gave ourselves a chance. Our guys are so smart and they try so hard. I just wish we could have had some more baskets to go down."

The Panthers' slowdown game in the fourth quarter also was a huge factor in the outcome.

"There's a reason the NCAA banned it, and made a shot clock," Battas said. "It is hard to guard, especially with their personnel. And with our personnel. We have really smart guys; we don't have the fastest guys in the world. We've got some guys we can sub in that can do that, but it is hard."

And the fact that the Tigers missed many shots make the Tigers' possessions that much more important.

"When you do have the ball, it's really calculated to get a good shot every time," Battas said, "and we did. We just missed. Brennan (Weller) got a three, Jack (Nafziger) got a three, it rimmed out. And so, it certainly makes it harder when they spread you out with the clock. And we'll keep practicing it; our guys, like I said, tried hard. If we make a couple more free throws, we're up to them, and they can't hold it. They've gotta play fast, they've gotta play against our defense that has been doing good. So it's really just a one or two possession difference, even though it ends up being nine or 10 points, it's a one or two-possession difference, where we would have a chance to win."

But from the team's effort, things couldn't have gone any better for the Tigers. but again, the margin for error is very small.

"From an effort standpoint, year, from an effort standpoint, and from carrying over from to what we practice standpoint, our guys were excellent," Battas said. "Like I said, room for error's small. We just had a couple of balls go out of our hand, and just missed a couple of free throws. But there is a lot our guys should be proud of."

It was Caleb Burton who struck first for the Panthers, hitting a three to give O'Fallon the first lead at 3-0, and after Weller scored inside, the Panthers built up a 7-4 lead on free throws from Amarey Wills and a basket from Mason Blakemore. A pair of baskets from Jalil Roundtree and Nic Hemken put the Tigers ahead for the first time 8-7, and another Roundtree basket made it 10-7. The Panthers went back on top with baskets from Blakemore and Wills, and an exchange of baskets near the end left both teams tied 14-14 after one quarter.

Weller hit a three from the top of the key to open the second quarter, and an exchange of threes gave the Tigers a 20-17 lead early on. After a Nafziger free throw, the teams exchanged baskets, then Nafziger hit a three up top to make it 26-19. O'Fallon fought back to make it 26-23, but a bank shot by Gabe James right before the halftime buzzer gave Edwardsville a 28-23 at the intermission.

Weller and Algee traded baskets to open the second half, but a Riley free throw and a three from Burton brought the Panthers to within 30-29, and after the two teams again traded baskets, a Weller three made it 35-31. The Panthers came back to tie on a basket from Wills and a Riley dunk. A Weller free throw gave the Tigers the lead back, but a basket right before the buzzer from Wills gave O'Fallon a 37-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.

A basket by Blakemore and a free throw from Weller made it 39-37 O'Fallon, and then, the Panthers went into a slowdown game to milk time off the clock. The Panther called time out with 5:39 left in regulation, and again went into the slowdown, which lasted until 3:10 left, when Ethan Young was called for a foul. From that point on, O'Fallon was eight-of-11 from the line, outscoring the Tigers 10-3 the rest of the way in going on to the 49-40 win.

Weller led the Tigers with 12 points, while Nafziger had nine, and Hemken scored eight. Burton led the Panthers with 15 points, while Blakemore and Wills had 12 points each.

Edwardsville is now 8-6 on the season, and plays tonight at Freeburg, Tuesday at Highland, and has a pair of big conference games coming up at home, Wednesday against East St. Louis, and Friday against Alton. Plenty of games coming up, and plenty of opportunities for the Tigers to bounce back.

"Our guys like playing, our guys are excited to have a bunch of games," Battas said. "Our guys like practicing, but they like competing, so we just talked about that. We're excited that we have some games her to play. A variety of different teams; we're going to have to play different styles. Our guys really like basketball, and they like being coached, and they like executing game plans. So this is a fun group to take and play in different environments, and we're really looking forward to going on the road tomorrow and playing Freeburg. Our guys are trying hard, and we're right there. We've just got to make a few more plays."Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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Dan Brannan also contributed to this story

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