Looking to continue the success east of Edwardsville, the boys’ basketball team won their fourth straight Salem Invitation Tournament with three solid wins.
The tournament began with a late Thursday night game against the Salem Wildcats. Home court advantage didn’t prove to be a big factor as the Tigers dominated from the three point line and won 54-33.
Sophomore Oliver Stephen led the team with 23 points and sophomore AJ Epenesa added 13 in the contest.
The second game was a little closer, but still a solid win for the boys in black and orange. They beat the Rams from Mount Vernon 58-51.
Sophomores stole the show once again as Epenesa had 24 points and 10 rebounds against the Rams. He had 10 points in the first quarter. Mark Smith added 17 points and Oliver Stephen had eight of his own.
The win over Mount Vernon put the Tigers back into a familiar position: the championship game at the Salem Invitational Tournament.
“It is a very good accomplishment to win in Salem,” head coach of the Tigers, Mike Waldo said. “There are good programs and they are well prepared.”
A very talented Centralia Orphans team was the only thing in the way of another memorable trip to Salem for the Tigers.
The boys came out of the gate slower than usual and found themselves trailing late in the third quarter.
After a traditional three point play by Ryan Obermeier with 2:28 remaining in the third, the Tigers stepped up to take the momentum back. This included seven straight points by the MVP of the tournament, Epenesa, including an “and-one” alley-oop dunk with a free throw to finish off the three point play to give the boys a 32-28 lead with 6:07 lead in the fourth quarter.
Senior point guard, Kyler Davis told the Edwardsville Intelligencer, “Once we got the dunk, I thought the momentum was on our side for the rest of the game. We made eye contact and his defender hopped up. I just threw it to the rim, and A.J. is just so athletic that I knew he’d be able to dunk it.”
The Tigers finished on a 13-3 run to defeat the mighty Orphans 38-33.
Coach Waldo had many good things to say about his assistant coach, Kyle Stewart, to get the team prepared for the Salem tournament.
“Coach Stewart makes sure we are prepared by getting film of the opponents,” Waldo said.
The three teams that the boys played were not teams they are used to seeing, so they needed to figure out the best way to practice to prepare for the battle.
“We have been practicing for three months now,” Waldo said. “The key is timing, and having the body and the ball at the right place and at the right time.”
The Tigers continue play against Southwestern Conference foe Belleville West at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lucco-Jackson Gymnasium.
