East St. Louis turns slow start into statement win over Belleville East

Terriyon Webster attacked the rim from the outside and Jamison White did damage in the paint as East St. Louis turned a one-point first-quarter deficit into a 20-point halftime lead, rolling to a 77-42 running-clock, mercy-rule victory over Southwestern Conference foe Belleville East on Friday night at East St. Louis High School.

East St. Louis (6-1, 3-0) shook off a slow start and never trailed after the second quarter.

“For some reason, we’ve been kind of staying slow, kind of feeling teams out, but once we get our rhythm, our guys love getting up and down the court,” East St. Louis coach Mark Chambers said. “They threw a zone at us in the first half that kind of threw us off a little bit, but once we figured that out, we started moving the ball around and knocking down some shots.”

In a back-and-forth first quarter, Belleville East (6-3, 1-3) appeared to have the upper hand early as senior guard Jalen Coleman scored seven points, helping the Lancers to a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The host Flyers got hot in the second quarter as Webster drained a pair of three-pointers to key an 8-3 run, putting them ahead 24-20.

Webster sparked a blistering 20-5 run over the final three minutes of the first half with a putback and another three-pointer, pushing East St. Louis to a commanding 47-27 halftime lead.

The junior forward paced the Flyers with a game- and career-high 25 points.

“I just caught fire,” Webster said. “My teammates kept finding me, I just kept shooting it, and I had confidence when I shot the ball, and they kept falling, and I had a great night and played great defense.”

White also had a big night, scoring at will down low with 20 points on putbacks, layups and fast-break dunks.

“I made an emphasis on him coming down to dunk the basketball,” Chambers said of White. “Trying to dunk the basketball and attack the rim, and he actually did that, and that helped. Along with the shooting, everything started clicking.”

The Flyers continued to roll in the third quarter and carried a 70-34 lead into the fourth, which started the running clock.

It was a disappointing night for the Lancers, but Belleville East coach David Franklin did not let his players hang their heads.

“They killed us on the boards,” Franklin said. “And they got their transition (game) going on turnovers, so those were the keys to the game. We gotta take care of the ball, and we gotta box out, and we didn’t do that. No matter what game we play, we’re always going to play to the end.”

Webster believes the Flyers are beginning to hit their stride.

“We’re still missing a couple of pieces, but we’re still coming together, and when they come back, it’s gonna come together,” Webster said.

James Johnson scored 14 points and Jaylen Coleman added 11 to lead Belleville East.

East St. Louis, the top-ranked team in the last IHSA Class 3A poll, travels to St. Louis Community College-Meramec on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. contest against national power 21st Century Charter of Indiana.

Belleville East returns to action next Saturday with a first-round game against Carbondale in the 41st Annual Collinsville Holiday Classic.

This story was originally published December 20, 2025 at 12:43 AM.