COLLINSVILLE – One thing Edwardsville’s boys basketballers can do well is shoot the three-pointers.
It’s often a matter of finding the open man beyond the three-point arc. More often than not, it’s senior Oliver Stephen who takes the shot.
Stephen hit five times from beyond the arc, leading the team with 17 points, in the Tigers’ 73-40 Friday night Southwestern Conference win over Collinsville at Fletcher Gym to put EHS at 6-1 overall for the season, 2-1 in the league heading into a Friday night game at Granite City heading into the upcoming Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic.
“That’s pretty much what it came down to,” Stephen said about how the Tigers pass the ball around the perimeter to find the open man. “We all can shoot threes, so it’s whoever’s open got to take it. Most of the time it went in.
“We play best when we have everyone going instead of one person. If we get our outside shot going, we’re pretty hard to guard. They (opposing teams) will have to expand out (on defense) so we can throw it down low to A.J. (Epenesa). That’s the main thing, make them do what they’re not comfortable doing.”
Friday’s win was certainly a good win from the Tiger point of view, especially on the road, Stephen felt. “Coming back from a big win (at home over Belleville East Tuesday night), we had to keep our mind focused and not take anything for granted.”
Every time Stephen hits from outside, Edwardsville’s student cheer squad, the Orange Rush, starts chanting Stephen’s nickname – Ollie Chopper. “It was my freshman year (when the nickname came about), either A.J. or Mark (Smith) gave me the nickname,” Stephen said with a smile. “It’s just stuck with me.”
