Balanced scoring attack helps lead O’Fallon past Belleville East in SWC action
O’Fallon ended its 3-game Southwestern Conference skid with a decisive 65-51 road win against Belleville East on Friday night.
The Panthers improved to 20-7 overall and 8-3 in league play.
“This was a team win from our offense to our defense, guys coming off the bench ... that’s a part of what we do,” O’Fallon coach Brian Muniz said. “No matter who we play (in the IHSA Class 4A Regional), we’ve got to be prepared and play with the same type of energy we played with tonight.”
The Panthers had four players in double figures including Isaiah Camper (16 points), Jaeden Rush (14 points) and Rini Harris (14 points).
Leading the way, however, was senior Jalen Smith, who posted 17 points. Smith is confident with where the team is going as the postseason approaches.
“It’s the right time to have everybody on board, feeling pretty good (going into playoff time),” Smith said. “It’s hard playing a team three-four times in a season, but if you want to move on, we have to get it done.”
Belleville East dropped its second straight against O’Fallon as the Lancers fell to 24-5 overall, 6-4 in SWC action. Coach Jeff Creek said he felt his squad lost touch of the game.
“We stopped following the game plan that we had; O’Fallon made plays and we didn’t,” Creek said.
Regarding the possibility of facing O’Fallon a fourth time this season in the regional semifinals: “I hope we see them again.”
The Lancers lone double figure scorer was SIU-Edwardsville commit Jordan Pickett with 20 points.
In the first quarter, Pickett scored eight-straight points for a quick 8-0 lead. Smith and Harris, however, scored all the Panthers 10 points to end the quarter.
Junior Tallis Lowery finished an and-1 to extend Belleville East’s lead to 22-15 through the first few minutes of the second quarter. O’Fallon then went on a 8-6 run to conclude the first half down 28-23.
The Lancers maintained a five point early in the second half as O’Fallon cut the deficit to one multiple times. The Panthers got their first lead of the night with 3:01 left after a huge dunk by Harris. They kept the lead and ended the quarter up 44-41.
Pickett tried to get the Belleville East’s offense cooking, but it was not enough to hold O’Fallon back as the Panthers kept their foot on the gas through the entire fourth quarter.
Next up
Both teams resume action at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, as Belleville East hosts Belleville West and O’Fallon entertains East St. Louis.
