Kahoks get 'big win' over Tigers; coach says fans got their money's worth

COLLINSVILLE -- The battle for first place in the Southwestern Conference had no difficulty living up to the hype.

Seniors Daryn Foster and Jaris Wellmaker helped Collinsville overcome a four-point deficit in overtime and defeat the Edwardsville Tigers 63-59 on Tuesday before a large crowd at Fletcher Gymnasium.

"What did we charge, four bucks? It had to be worth that," third-year Kahoks coach Darin Lee said. "It wasn't much fun for Mike (Waldo, the Edwardsville coach) or I. It never is when you're in the battle. But I certainly think the casual fans got their money's worth.

"It's a big win for our program, in general. Mike's had a great program for a long time. It's early in my tenure here. It's just a big win for us."

The Kahoks (22-3 overall, 10-1 in the SWC), ranked fifth in the Class 4A state poll, pulled two games ahead of 10th-ranked Edwardsville (17-5, 8-3) with three remaining. East St. Louis also is two games back. Collinsville hasn't won an outright SWC championship since the 1995-96 season.

"It was real big because we haven't won it since '02," said Foster, referring to a share of the league title with Belleville East. "We really wanted this win."

Foster led Collinsville with 15 points. Wellmaker and senior J'Vaughn Williams had 11 apiece, senior Devonta Crochrell had 10 and senior Caleb Johnson had eight --all in the second quarter.

Tigers junior Garrett Covington, whose four-point play to open overtime put Edwardsville ahead 55-51, led all scorers with 21 points. Junior Tre Harris had 18 and junior Drew Curtis had 10.

"I thought our guys battled good and I thought we had a very good chance to win the game, obviously," Waldo said. "You've got to give Collinsville credit, but I'm proud of my guys. We played a good game."

Edwardsville, which trailed 27-18 at halftime and and twice was behind by 11 points in the third quarter, saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end. The Tigers had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Covington missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.

"Curtis made a very good screen so Harris could turn the corner," Waldo said. "Then I thought Harris made an outstanding play of picking Covington out ... over there in the corner, with the traffic he was in.

"Threes aren't a given. Those are hard shots to make. Garrett practices shooting hard. That's just one of those things. You don't feel bad about that. You just keep practicing and keep shooting."

Lee was relieved Covington, a deadly 3-pointer, was far away from the basket.

"It's better than a layup," Lee said. "I'd rather him shoot a 20-footer than (a layup). A 3, that one right there, is one of out every two. He's 50 percent wide-open."

Covington, however, made a 3-pointer from the left corner and was fouled by Williams in overtime to put Edwardsville ahead 55-51.

But Foster's deep 3-pointer with 2:06 to play cut the Edwardsville lead to 55-54, and after the Tigers went ahead 57-54 on a basket by Curtis, Foster hit a lean-in jumper in the lane to make it 57-56 with 1:32 left.

"I think Foster draining that long 3 (was the key)," Lee said. "They went to a zone and I moved him to the top. He hit about, what, a 24-footer? He's got long range. That was probably the big one there, to get it cut to one."

After the Tigers were called for a 10-second violation, Collinsville senior Devonta Crochrell was fouled by Curtis and put the Kahoks ahead 58-57 when he made two free throws with 1:01 remaining.

Wellmaker, who had three fouls less than nine minutes into the game, then stole the ball at midcourt from Harris, who was called for goaltending when Wellmaker drove in for a layup that put Collinsville ahead 60-57 with 37.3 seconds to play.

"I don't want to jinx him, but he does that once or twice a game," Lee said of Wellmaker's steal and basket. "If it's late, he's going to come up with the basketball. He's going to get his hands on the ball somewhere. I know he takes it from our guys in practice all the time."

Curtis made two free throws with 28.9 seconds to play after being fouled by Crochrell, and the Tigers trailed 60-59.

The Tigers that committed three quick fouls to get the Kahoks to the line, and Foster swished two free throws to make it 62-59 with 26.8 seconds left.

Curtis was then called for traveling just inside halfcourt, although fans of both teams after the game claimed they never saw a violation.

"I don't think me talking about that would be good. Sorry," Waldo said.

Collinsville junior Jason Kusnerick was fouled with 14.3 seconds left, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Wellmaker, however, came up with the loose ball in traffic, and Kusnerick was fouled again with 7.7 seconds remaining.

This time, Kusnerick made both free throws to clinch the outcome.

"Our guys practice hard. They spend a lot of time and they work at it," Waldo said. "When you get beat, it should be hard on you. That's OK to be discouraged when you get beat. It means you've got something invested."

Source: http://www.bnd.com/2012/02/15/2058916/kahoks-get-big-win-over-tigers.html

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