Mascoutah Triumphs Over Edwardsville Boys 60-52

Sire Borden and Jalyn Nguyen stepped up off the bench, energizing Edwardsville but the team couldn’t overcome Mascoutah's lead.

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Jan 28, 2026 12:05 PM Jan 29, 2026 1:57 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's boys basketball team lost a tough game 60-52 on Tuesday night, Jan. 27, 2026, at Lucco-Jackson Gym.

Cameron Lowery paced Mascoutah to the victory with a 24-point outburst.

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The Tigers were unable to practice the last few days, with the winter storm that passed through the area last weekend preventing sessions from being held. Coach Dustin Battas said the lack of preparation time for the Indians showed on the floor.

“We had trouble making baskets, we had trouble making free throws," Coach Battas said. "It just reminds me and our guys how important practice is, and credit to Mascoutah, they played a fantastic game. They made a bunch of shots. I thought our guys really tried hard in the second half. We just could never get over the hump, we could never get a stop when we needed it.

"I thought we attacked the rim well, but we’d miss free throws. We shot ourselves in the foot somewhat, but it reminds us how important practice is, and the weather was out of our control. We haven’t been together in a few days. I think that really impacted us in some of the things we’re usually good at. We’ll just put this one behind us, and hope we never have to play again without getting a practice first.”

The snowstorm definitely affected the Tigers, forcing them out of their routine, and affected how they played against Mascoutah.

“Guys are out of their routine,” Battas said, “and I thought we looked winded early from a lot of guys probably didn’t get up out of bed much yesterday, so it affects your routine, it affects your execution. There were things we could control, like rebounding and transition defense early, that we didn’t do.

"So, it’s certainly not all, because we didn’t get to practice. I do think our guys realize that having a game plan is important, and practicing the things that are going to happen in a game is important. The weather threw a wrench into those plans, and so, we’ll just try to put this behind us and have a good plan for practice tomorrow. Our guys tried hard in the second half, we had to change our defense, and get up after them, some.

"Sire Borden and Jalyn (Nguyen) came off the bench and provided a spark for us. So, we may be better for it in the long run, because we had to play more guys tonight, and try a few things on defense. We’ll focus on what we can control. We’ll focus on having a good practice tomorrow and Thursday, so we can have a chance to win at Belleville West on Friday."

The Tigers did make a couple of runs in the second half to get back into the game, but both times, the Indians responded well to the challenges and held off Edwardsville very well.

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“They were unbelievable,” Battas said of Mascoutah's performance. "Every time we’d make a little run, they’d make a three. They played at a really high level. (Lowery) made a bunch of shots, their leading scorers are (Micah Griffo) and (Brayden Watson), and we let those guys score some, and then (Lowery) probably had a career night; he’s a really talented kid. Tonight, it felt like, for whatever reason, felt like one of those games where, once we got behind, we could never even make it a game, because of their ability to score and our inability to make baskets."

The Tigers will regroup and practice the next two days with the game at West on the horizon.

‘” It’s a long season,” Battas said. “Basketball’s season’s hard because you have a lot of games, but that also means you have a lot of opportunities to get better. You just have to prevent poor performance in the future, and you do that by practicing. I like our guys; we like being around our guys, they’re very coachable. They have very good attitudes. I’m confident we can fix a few of our issues tonight at practice tomorrow, and get back on the right track.”

Mascoutah head Coach Cole Schomaker had some good words for the Tigers as well.

“We did take some punches,” Schomaker said. “They’re good, they’re athletic, they’re semi-deep, and they’ve got everything they need. We took some punches, and we have a young team, and we cannot simulate their pressure and their physicality in practice. So, going through the highs and lows of this game, there were a lot of ups and downs in this game, but we’re better for it.”

Rowan Weller sank a three, and Matthew Wilson scored at the outset of the game to give the Tigers an early 5-0 lead, with King countering with his own three to cut the lead to 5-3. A pair of Wilson free throws made it 7-3 for the Tigers, but a three-pointer and a basket from Lowery gave Mascoutah a 10-9 lead after the first quarter. Lowery went to work in the second quarter, scoring almost at will to help the Indians take a 21-12 lead, then a three-pointer from Watson doubled the Mascoutah lead to 24-12. In the end, Mascoutah took a 32-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The sides traded baskets to start the second half, then Lowery picked up where he left off in the first half, helping the Indians to a 42-22 lead. The Tigers managed to come back to within 45-30, but Mascoutah countered well, getting big baskets to holdoff a Tiger comeback attempt after the end of the third quarter with a score of 49-35.

In the final period, for every Tigers’ move, there was a counter by Mascoutah, who used timely shooting and free throws to help keep Edwardsville at bay. In the end, the deficit proved too much to overcome for the Tigers, as free throws helped spell the difference, with the Indians taking their 60-52 win.

To go along with Lowery’s 24 points, the Indians saw Micah Griffo come up with 14 points, Watson hit for eight points, Gideon Love and Carlo Garcia had four points each, and King scored two points.

The Tigers were led by both Weller and Miccah Butler, with 11 points each, while Borden scored eight points, both Devyon Hill-Lomax and Wilson scored seven points each, and Brady Niemi had two points.

Edwardsville slips to 13-7 and plays at Belleville West on Friday night, goes to Alton Feb. 6, and hosts Collinsville Feb. 20, with all games starting at 7:30 p.m.