Collinsville boys basketball coach Darin Lee likes a lot of things about the 2011-12 team, and its resiliency is one of them.
The Kahoks have displayed an ability for being able to recover from a slow start, and that was evident again Friday against visiting Alton. The Redbirds (7-17 overall and 1-10 in the Southwestern Conference) scored the first 10 points and led 16-4 in the first quarter, but Collinsville led by eight at halftime and went on to earn a 75-59 victory.
The Kahoks remain atop the SWC standings at 9-1 and took a 21-3 record into Tuesday's home game against Edwardsville (17-4, 8-2).
"In the games we've trailed by a pretty good margin, we've been able to come back in all but one," Collinsville coach Darin Lee said, referring to a 57-46 loss to East St. Louis on Dec. 6. "We've got a few more seniors this year and we're shooting a little better. We've had great chemistry with the same starting five all year. Last year we used a lot of different lineups and that's usually not good."
Against Alton, Jaris Wellmaker had a game-high 21 points while Daryn Foster added 17. For the season, Foster leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game while Wellmaker is second at 10.3 ppg.
"All five of our starters (including J'Vaughn Williams, Jason Kusnerick and Devonta Crochrell) are capable of putting the ball in the basket and that really helps," Lee said. "The last few weeks, we're shooting with my more confidence and we're more fluid on offense."
The Kahoks are battling Edwardsville and East St. Louis (8-3) for the conference championship.
"I don't think too many people picked us to even finish in the top half, but we're going for our 10th win, which is something we haven't done since the conference went to its current eight teams (with the addition of O'Fallon in 20000-01)," Lee said. "Getting 12 or 13 wins would be a great accomplishment.
"What makes it more special is that there are no automatic wins in this conference. Alton is at the bottom of the standings (along with Granite City), but they were leading us by 12 points on our court. When I was at Nashville, there was no chance of a last-place team getting a double-digit lead on the first-place team. I didn't really have to prepare too much for those games."
As good as the Kahoks have been, Lee sees plenty of room for improvement.
"I'd like for our defensive rebounding to be a little better - it's hurt us a few times," Lee said. "For the most part, our defense and our rebounding have been pretty solid. We've hardly used a zone press at all this season, but we played it against Alton and got a couple turnovers off it."
MADISON ROLLS OVER ST. ELMO
Since losing back-to-back games against Imagine Prep and Mater Dei, Madison has won four games in a row, The latest came on Saturday, where the Trojans (18-6) defeated St. Elmo 64-29 in the Illinois Central Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Mason City.
"I was a little shocked that we beat them the way we did," Madison coach Jaime Cotto-Rodriguez said. "Those guys were tied against Teutopolis after the third quarter, so that shows they're a pretty good team. Our kids were expecting a really good ballgame, but we came out and went up 17-0.
"Their leading scorer was averaging 18 points a game and we held him to two points. Marquis Bourney was guarding him and he shut him down. Corey Hardin came over and helped and they did a great job defensively along with Torian Wright."
Lanez Gregory was named most valuable player of the game with 22 points while Hardin added 15.
"Corey came out and took it to them right away with 11 points in the first three minutes," Cotto-Rodriguez said. "Armel Gines played well, too."
Madison was scheduled to play Tuesday at Centralia and will play host to Teutopolis on Friday. The Trojans are the No. 2 seed in the Class 1A Gibault Regional and will face No. 3 Gibault or No. 6 Valmeyer in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.
"This may be our most challenging week of the season," Cotto-Rodriguez said. "I really like the Centralia game because their defensive philosophy is a lot like what we'll be facing (against Gibault) at the regional."
Gregory, a 5-8 senior, leads Madison in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Sterling Harrell, a 6-0 junior, isn't far behind at 18.9 ppg.
WARRIORS LOOK FOR CONFERENCE WINS
Heading into Tuesday's home game against O'Fallon, Granite City was 10-12 overall. But the Warriors were only 1-9 in conference games.
"We dropped a game against Alton (62-61 on Feb. 3) that set us back," Granite City coach Steve Roustio said. "We had a decent size lead midway through the fourth quarter and when you have the ball in that situation, you want to get at least one point if not two. If you take care of the ball, you're going to get fouled, but our guys need to learn how to finish."
Since Roustio took over in 2008, the Warriors have closed the gap in terms of being competitive in the SWC.
"Outside of the conference, we have a winning record and I'm pleased with that," Roustio said. "But in terms of the outcome and scoring victories in the Southwestern Conference, it comes to a dead stop. The next hurdle we have to negotiate is to do what teams need to do in the last four or five possessions to come out on top."
In their last conference game, the Warriors lost 64-53 to Edwardsville on Friday. Omar Walker had 13 points while Tyler Bodi and Perry Grimes had 10 points, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Warriors trailed 52-28 after three quarters.
"We have four games left before the regional and it would be great if we could win a couple of them," Roustio said. "If we come out and play, those are winnable games. The guys should be loose - there's no pressure on us."
Marcus Mason, Granite City's lone senior, was expected to miss the O'Fallon game with strep throat.
"Other guys need to step up and show what they've got," Roustio said. "Tyler Bodi has played a lot better lately on both ends of the court."
EDWARDSVILLE IS ON A ROLL
Edwardsville took a 10-game winning streak into Tuesday's game at Collinsville.
"We have a lot of teamwork and we practice really well," Tigers coach Mike Waldo said. "Our scout team is a mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores and they do a really good job of simulating game conditions."
Juniors Tre Harris (22 points against Granite City) and Garrett Covington (16 points) are the big guns on offense for Edwardsville. But the other starters (senior Josh White and juniors Shawn Roundtree and Drew Curtis) contribute in a variety of ways.
"A lot of aspects going into being successful in basketball and scoring is part of it," Waldo said. "We do a good job of taking what the defense gives us and finding the open shot.
"Defensively, Josh White and Diarra Cropper (the first player off the bench) do a great job against the other team's best player. We also play good help defense. Shawn Roundtree is very good at getting us into our offense."
TRIAD AIMS TO END LOSING SKID
Triad (13-10 overall, 5-2 in the Mississippi Valley Conference) takes a four-game losing streak into Friday's home game against Civic Memorial.
"We're not playing very well right now," Knights coach Sam Drake said. "Defensively, we're not as solid as we were earlier in the season. Offensively, we have to make sure we take care of the ball and take good shots."
Seniors Dylan Johnson and Gavin Durham have been among the top players for Triad, which is coming off a 62-58 loss to MVC rival Jerseyville last Friday.
"We have some time to practice and tighten up the ship heading into the home stretch," Drake said. "We have three games left before the regional and the conference is up in the air among us, Highland and Jerseyville. If we win out, we can get a share of the title and that's our goal right now. It would also give us some momentum going into the regional."
