COLLINSVILLE – Edwardsville’s senior class has meant much to their boys basketball team.
Mark Smith, A.J. Epenesa and Oliver Stephen’s contributions will be talked about for many years when Tiger fans get together to discuss the program’s history.
Smith and Epenesa reached milestones during the Collinsville-Prairie Farms Holiday Classic tournament, Smith joining EHS’ 1,000-point club in their win over Springfield Southeast in the semifinals and Epenesa joining him in the final against Belleville Althoff; Stephen is not that far away from joining them.
“It’s an awesome night for me to score my 1,000th point and first, to come out and beat Althoff for the second time this season in another championship game,” Epenesa said. “They’re an amazing ball club; we had to come out and work our hardest and had to play our best game each time we played them. It’s a fantastic night to beat them again for a second time; it just shows the togetherness of all of us, the brotherhood of what we share, how special it is what we can do with this basketball team.”
Reaching the 1,000-point mark “is a huge honor,” Epenesa said. “I’m super-excited for me and Mark to get it this early in the season, and Oliver is right at the door too. To get all three of us in the 1,000-point club in one season, and in the same class, is a big deal. I don’t think it’s happened before in Edwardsville history; it’s going to be a big deal for us. Those are some of my best friends I’ve grown up with and it’s a pretty special moment for us.”
“It’s just a testament for all the hard work we do every day,” Smith said. “It’s paying off now. It’s a great feeling to have all of us here together; it’s just like it was when we were younger. It’s a great feeling.”
Smith and his teammates play off each other very well. “We’ve played together for so long,” Smith said. “We’ve played with each other since fourth grade. We know what everyone can do and we just excel at it.”
