INDIANAPOLIS – Herb Martin led Edwardsville with 18 points, while Miccah Butler added 16 points, as the Tigers won in a Shootout game over Madison 53-34 Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the home arena of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association.
The game was a special treat for the Edwardsville players, and came about through hard work and planning. After the Shootout, the Tigers and Trojans stayed for the regularly scheduled NBA game between the Pacers and Atlanta Hawks as the Pacers’ guests.
“Today was a great experience for our guys,” said Edwardsville head coach Dustin Battas. “Having the opportunity to play in an NBA arena, and experience an NBA game is something that I think they will remember for a long time. This is a really good group of guys, and they worked hard this year, so it was neat to be able to reward them with an experience like this.”
Battas thanked the Edwardsville High administration and the booster club for their efforts in making the trip and appearance at the game happen.
“I appreciate our boosters and administration for being so supportive, and enabling us to do something like this,” Battas said. “It’s not easy. It’s a lot of travel and organizing, but we are very happy with how it turned out.”
The game itself was a very competitive one, with the Tigers, such as their game the night before, a 71-44 win at O’Fallon, pulling away in the second half to take the win.
“As for the game, It was a very competitive game,” Battas said. “We were able to guard them a little better in the second half. and make some baskets to pull away from them.”
Martin scored eight points in the opening period, as Edwardsville took a 17-9 first-quarter lead, then Butler hit a three during the second, as the Tigers went into the locker room at halftime leading 26-16. As was the case the night before, Edwardsville held Madison to six free throws in the third quarter, not allowing a basket, while Butler hit another three during the period to help extend the Tigers’ lead to 39-22. In the fourth quarter, five different Edwardsville players scored, as the Tigers pulled away to their 53-34 win.
To go along with Martin’s 18 points, and Buttler’s 16, Bryce Pryor had eight points, Brady Niemi scored thee points, and Iose Epenesa, Rowan Weller, Michael Downs, and Tucker Lindstedt all had two points each. The Trojans were led by Jamarion Skinner with 14 points, while both Ladarius Harriel and Dallas Gardner scored six points each, Darius Williams hit for four points, Shane Bennett had three points, and Alex Kennedy scored a single point.
The Tigers are now 21-2 on the season, and return to Southwestern Conference play Tuesday night at Collinsville, play at Staunton on Wednesday night, then host Belleville East in a key league game Friday night, with all games starting at 7:30 p.m.
The Trojans are now 3-12, and play at Hardin Calhoun on Thursday night, and are at Mounds Meridian on Friday night, with both games slated to start at 7:30 p.m.