Isayah Kloster Leads Edwardsville With 15 Points In Solid Regional Semis Effort Against Quincy

by Randy Manning

published February 23 2022 5:25 AM

updated February 23 2022 4:22 PM

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ALTON - Junior Isayah Kloster led Edwardsville with 15 points, but the Tigers were eliminated by Quincy in the IHSA Class 4A boys basketball regional semifinal 49-37 at the Redbirds Nest in Alton.

Edwardsville played hard, but in the end, couldn't score enough and that made the difference in the game as the Blue Devils advanced.

"Quincy played pretty well, and we played hard," said Edwardsville head coach Dustin Battas, "we just came up a few baskets short. We gave up 19 points in the first quarter, which is a tough way to start, but then, we rebounded by only giving up six points in the second quarter."

The Tigers did try to rally and go on a run to get close, but each time, Quincy had the answers.

"Every time we came back, they would score a basket," Battas said, "and that just made it hard to catch up. Quincy is a great team, they're well-coached and they have a chance to have a successful postseason."

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Battas is proud of his team and praised their efforts throughout the season, showing big improvement during the final month of the campaign.

"We have high-character guys that brought it every day," Battas said, "and that's why we were able to improve as the season went on."

The Blue Devils took a 19-7 lead after the first quarter, but the Tigers were able to come back in the second quarter to cut the lead to 25-17 at halftime. Quincy was able to hold the lead at 38-29 after the third quarter, then outscored Edwardsville 11-8 to take the win and advance.

Along with Kloster's 15 points, Alec Marchetto added 11 points, Bryce Spiller had six points, Zach Hoffmann hit for three points and A.J. Tillman scored two points.

Quincy is now 25-5 and moves on to Friday night's final against O'Fallon, a 60-36 winner over the host Redbirds in the first semifinal, while the Tigers end their season 11-19. There's much to look forward to from the Tigers in 2022-23.

"We hope to build off the improvement we made this last month," Battas said. "We'll really miss our seniors and we feel optimistic about the future of Tigers basketball."