GRANITE CITY - The Granite City Warriors’ season of significant progress ended Wednesday night, Feb. 25, 2026, with a 42-39 loss to the Collinsville Kahoks in regional play, closing a turnaround year that saw Granite City improve to 16-15 after going 9-23 in 2024-25.
The basketball boys are Stillwater Senior Living Male Athletes of the Month for Granite City.
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“Last year, the year before, we graduated nine seniors, and last year, we were 9-23," he said. "So, we’re happy with our season. Obviously, you’d like to go for it all in the playoffs, but considering all of the factors and all the young guys we have on the team, it was pretty much a rebuilding year for us. We’re more than happy with that outcome to our season, and we look forward to next year.”
The Warriors are set to return to the Southwestern Conference in 2026-27, a move Moore said will bring more challenges similar to the close loss to Collinsville.
“That’ll be a lot of fun,” Moore said. “There are going to be plenty of games like this playing in the Southwestern Conference, with a lot of great coaches and great players. We just have to be ready and do a good job of developing the kids we have in the off-season. We are making sure our guys are playing in the summer with different AAU clubs, so that they can come back prepared, more advanced, and ready to play.”
Coach Moore also recognized the team’s four seniors, who played their final game for the Warriors.
“I’ll tell you what, though,” Moore said. “We are going to miss our four seniors — Tyler Moore, Jalen Hall, Antonio Dean, and obviously, our best player, Evan Brewer. Those guys were very instrumental in our success this year. They led us to this great season that we had, and we’re going to miss them. They were such great leaders, such good student-athletes, they were just overall really good people.”
Moore said the end of a season is also a personal moment for a program built on relationships.
“And that’s the hardest part of my job, separating my feelings from the game,” Moore said. “When our seniors leave, it’s hard for me, because I built such good relationships with their families, and the kids, the communities. It’s just tough, because we’re family, and we really enjoy what we do, we love the kids, and the kids love us.”
Granite City’s season ends at 16-15.
