BELLEVILLE — Belleville East’s boys basketball team pushed Edwardsville to the final seconds on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, before Rowan Weller’s late shot lifted the Tigers to a narrow 47-45 win, a result that nonetheless underscored the Lancers’ late-season progress under coach David Franklin.
Belleville East rallied to take a lead in the fourth quarter, but Edwardsville held on down the stretch.
The Lancers were led by Alexander with nine points. Jaden Coleman, Wilson, and Johnson each scored eight points. Savon Wade added six points, and Bryce Bennet, Ja’cory Brown, and Kameron Eutsey had two points apiece.
Edwardsville coach Dustin Battas credited Franklin and Belleville East for making it a tight game.
“Their coach (David Franklin) is doing an excellent job; losing that many close games can be hard. He’s kept them together; he’s kept them playing hard. I’m disappointed in our lack of execution sometimes when we had that lead, but credit to Belleville East for fighting and making it a hard game,” Battas said.
Belleville East is 9-18 and will close the regular season Friday night at home against Alton in a 7:30 p.m. start.
The Lancers will then open postseason play against Belleville West in the O’Fallon Regional on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. The winner will face the winner of Alton-O’Fallon on Feb. 27 in the final at 7 p.m.
