Lloyd leads Belleville West past East in early conference showdown

J’Dyn Lloyd and the Belleville West basketball team are determined to prove they are one of the best teams in the Southwestern Conference this winter.

On Friday night, Lloyd and his Maroons teammates made an early statement.

Lloyd erupted for a game-high 27 points, and Belleville West turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 57-47 conference win over crosstown rival Belleville East before a capacity crowd at Belleville West High School.

Lloyd said he was happy to get the win over West’s archrival and credited the team’s unselfish approach with giving them the edge.

“We played we ball, not me ball, and we competed in practice (this week), and it carried over to the game,” Lloyd said.

The teams traded baskets for most of the first quarter, but a pair of Lloyd three-pointers erased an 8-7 East lead and keyed a 6-2 run that left the Maroons up 13-8 at the end of the period.

“Coach just told me not to settle for shots, and tonight I didn’t settle, I attacked the rim and got three-point plays,” Lloyd said. “I work on the same moves every day in practice and try to perfect them, so when I get in the game, it’s there.”

Belleville West (4-2, 1-1 Southwestern Conference) continued to keep Belleville East out of sorts in the third quarter with a smothering man-to-man defense that forced East guards Troy Alexander and Jalen Coleman into turnovers and miscues as the Lancers scored just nine points in the quarter.

“I thought our defensive energy was just right there down the stretch when we needed it to be,” Belleville West coach Alex Schobert said. “I thought Nate Rogers gave us great energy off the bench defensively, and Ricky Salmon as well. They’re not the biggest guys, but they showed a lot of toughness.”

Belleville East (5-2, 1-2) pulled within 40-33 with 6:15 left on an Alexander free throw.

East would get no closer, as the Maroons closed out the final stretch with 17 points to claim the victory.

First-year East coach David Franklin was not thrilled with the finish but credited his young club for competing wire-to-wire in a tough road environment.

“I thought we came out and played very hard, and the season’s still young and we’re still coming together,” Franklin said. “We’ve got a lot of new coaches, including myself, and we’ve got a lot of guys that don’t have a lot of varsity experience, and this is a tough loss, but we’re preparing for January and February.”

Alexander paced Belleville East with 11 points.

Belleville West travels to Lincoln on Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. nonconference game.