Alton captures fourth win dominating O'Fallon 73-58
GODFREY – It's a given fact that when a basketball team gets hot at the right time, their momentum can be, at best, difficult to stop.
Alton's boys basketball team showed just how hard it is for an opponent to stop them when they came out of the gate on fire, thanks to a barrage of three-point shots that helped them come away with a 73-58 Southwestern Conference win over O'Fallon at Alton's gym Tuesday night.
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The win moved the Redbirds to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the SWC, setting up an early league showdown with Granite City at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Granite City's Memorial Gym; the Warriors went to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league when they held off Belleville West 48-42 at home Tuesday.
“It's a whole new ballgame when you can shoot the ball well,” said Redbird coach Eric Smith.
Especially Marcus Latham, who canned four straight three-balls in the opening term on his way to a 22-point night for Alton. “He has the ability to do that,” Smith said. “He's had a couple of nights already this season where he's hit a bunch consecutively like that. Once he starts making baskets for us, it's kind of contagious; some other kids get to feeling a little bit. Tonight, it just started snowballing.”
Latham, for his part, credited his teammates for their efforts in getting him the ball. “My teammates did a good job of finding me open. I missed the first one (that he took), and I just had to keep shooting. They started dropping, and after that second one, I was just feeling it.
“I kept on shooting, my teammates kept finding me and we were in just a good rhythm.”
The Redbirds' Tre Smith also took part in the fun; he scored 15 points in the first three quarters. “Coaches said 'keep running the floor' and sharing the ball“, Tre Smith said.
That ball-sharing, team concept has been something Eric Smith and the Redbird coaching staff has been emphasizing this season. When asked if this was what he envisioned the Redbirds being this year, Smith said “offensively, yes. Defensively, that was the big question...for stretches, we've done OK. We stubbed our toes a little bit with a couple, but for the most part, once we get energy and when we play with a little bit of bounce in our step on the defensive end, it just turns into things a little bit more positively on the offensive end.”
Besides Latham and Tre Smith's performances, the Redbirds got nine points from Maurice Edwards and eight from Kevin Caldwell. The Panthers, who fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league, were led by Chance Armstrong's 14 points and Alex Orr's 11.
Eric Smith is expecting a good game when the Redbirds head to Granite City Friday. “It'll be a big game,” Smith said. “It'll be two teams that have some hopes to be in the mix at the end of the season with the conference, and they've got a bunch of kids that have a lot of varsity experience that have played together for a handful of years; we've got a bunch of kids who are learning as they go. It'll be fun.”
“It's going to be a good game,” Tre Smith said. “I can't wait – I'm excited.”
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