Tigers poised for regional after pair of wins, face Granite City first

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Feb 25, 2019 6:00 AM Feb 26, 2019 6:20 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville's boys' basketball team ended the regular season by winning their final two games to go to 8-19 and have some momentum built as they start the IHSA Class 4A playoffs at 7 Monday night at the Collinsville regional.

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Edwardsville will face Granite City for the second time this season, and Tigers' head coach Dustin Battas feels that his team is ready to make some noise with the start of March Madness.

“We were happy to be able to beat O’Fallon, and then tonight, Belleville East, and we’re really looking forward to competing against Granite City on Monday," Coach Battas said Friday evening. "Our guys like practicing, and I think they’re confident in the way that we’ve been preparing for teams. And we do have some good momentum, and all season, your goal is to be playing your best basketball at this time of year. So we do feel like this is happening, and our guys are really excited about next week.”

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Coach Battas expects a similar style of play from the Warriors that East has, and Battas knows his club will be ready.

“Well, the Granite City game will be similar to our game tonight,” Battas said. “They’ve got a couple of guys that can really shoot, they’ve got some athletic guys, and they play a couple of different types of defense, so we’ll practice good, and have a good game plan, hopefully. And I know our guys are looking forward to having the chance to play Granite City on Monday.”

The Tigers’ confidence level is very high going into the game on Monday, and Coach Battas feels that it’s a reward for all of the hard work the players have done in their practice sessions throughout the season.

“Yes, it’s such a nice reward for our guys,” the coach said, “and they’ve always done the work. But to do the work, and then reap the benefit, and then see with their own eyes they can make the shots we want them to make, and they are really playing at a high level. And a lot of that has to do with the way they’ve been practicing. But our confidence is at an all-time high for sure.”Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.