The boys’ basketball team competed in the Don Maurer Invitational, an annual tournament held at M.I.D.C.S high school over winter break,
The Tigers placed first overall as the second ranked team.
Top performers on the team include Herbert Martin and Miccah Butler, who were both named to the all-tournament team.
“Being named to the all-tournament team is an exciting feeling and a blessing,” Butler said, “It’s a testimony to the hard work you put into every practice and every game.”
The Tigers came into the tournament 7-1 with their only loss of the season coming from top-ranked Alton, placing them as the second ranked team in the tournament.
The Tigers played Ritenour first, winning 64-32, then Francis Howell, winning 66-40, and finally beat Kirkwood 71-57 to advance to the final round.
The three wins brought the Tigers to the finals, matching up with the top-seeded team: Ladue. After a close game, they finished 71-69 and improved the overall season record to 11-1, making Edwardsville the 12th best team in the state.
“A major tournament win like this lets people know that we’re a really good team,” Martin said, “we stamped that with a win over the No. 2 team in Missouri.”
The Tigers’ next opponent over break was the Dieterich Movin Maroons, who came into the match up with a record of 11-2. Dieterich was unable to stop the Tigers with multiple players including senior guard Bryce Pryor and senior center Iose Epenesa scoring in double digits.
“The current seniors have really stepped up this year and helped to fill the void of players who have graduated and aren’t on the team this year,” coach Dustin Battas said.
Most recently on Jan 7, the Tigers took on conference rival and top-ranked East Saint Louis Flyers, beating the 6-9 team 53-45. Martin led by scoring 22 points while Butler added 14.
“I hit a lot of my free throws,” Martin said, “besides for that, I know when to use certain moves to score based on the defender and how they are guarding me.”
After recent team success, Battas cites the developmental programs starting for players in freshman year for helping to make the team better over time.
“Our freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors make up four teams,” Battas said. “our guys get better as time goes on.”
While Battas sees the current success of the team during matches and practices, he still feels as if more work is needed to prepare for the rest of the season.
“We put ourselves in a good position to hopefully win the conference but also get a good seed as the postseason starts up,” Battas said. “our regional will probably be the most challenging in the state of Illinois, so we have a lot of work to do to get ready.”
After beating the Flyers in a South-Western Conference showdown, the team looks forward to their next match against the Collinsville Kahoks.
Edwardsville faces Collinsville on Jan. 14, a school that usually is ranked near the top of state rankings. Coming into the game with a 7-8 record, placed last in the conference.
“It’s really great to see other competition and other teams that play differently,” senior guard Brandon Hoffmann said, “it helps us get better as players and as a team.”