EAST ST. LOUIS - A.J. Tillman led Edwardsville with 16 points, but the Tigers missed a game-tying three before the buzzer as East St. Louis held on to take a 56-51 win in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game Tuesday night at the newly-renovated East St. Louis High gym.
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The Tigers have now lost three in a row and have won two of their last five games, going back to playing in last week's Don Mauer Holiday Invitational at Mary Institute-Country Day School in Ladue, Mo., where Edwardsville finished fourth in the tournament.
Edwardsville led after the first quarter 25-13 and also at halftime 32-24, but the Flyers rallied back to take the lead in the third quarter and held on the rest of the way, leading 54-51 in the final minute, when the play was drawn up. Allen had a very good look at the basket, but his shot hit the rim and bounced away, where Taylor Powell scored before the buzzer to give the Flyers their 56-51 win.
To go along with Tillman's 16 points, Allen added 13 for the Tigers, while Donovan Coates came up with 12 points. Powell scored a career-high 23 points to lead East Side, while Davis Bynum was held to nine points on the night.
The Flyers are now 9-5 and play at O'Fallon Friday night at 7:30, then meet Columbia, Mo., Tolton in their shootout Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., continuing their road trip at Belleville East Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers go to 10-6 on the year and host Collinsville on Friday night, then play at home against Belleville West on Jan. 9 and play at Alton on Jan. 12, with all games starting at 7:30 p.m.
