COLLINSVILLE – Edwardsville’s boys basketball team faced an improving Belleville Althoff Catholic squad Thursday night in the Collinsville Holiday Classic and squeezed out a 47-42 win over the pesky opponent.
The Tigers improve to 8-1 overall with the win and move to the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. Friday against Decatur MacArthur.
MacArthur won an overtime battle 72-64 over Rockford East on Thursday night to advance. Althoff dropped to 2-7 overall with the loss.
Jack Marinko finished the game in strong fashion with 14 of his 15 points in the second half, a big key to the win. Caleb Strohmeier had a big first half for the Tigers, scoring 12 points. He finished the game with 14 points, second-highest in the game for both teams. Malik Robinson also hit double figures for the Tigers with 10 points.
Edwardsville’s boys edged ahead 10-7 at the end of one quarter, then 21-18 at the half, with both Althoff and the Tigers scoring 11 points each. At the end of the third period, the Tigers crept ahead 35-27, outscoring Althoff 14-9. Althoff outscored Edwardsville 14-9 in the final quarter, but the Tigers hung on for a 47-42 win.
Junior K. Muhammad led Althoff with 11 points, Patrick Readye had 10 points and while Ryan McDonald added 9 points.
Edwardsville will play at 8 p.m. Friday with a win in the 2:30 p.m. Friday game against Decatur MacArthur.
