Butler Leads With 18 Points, Wilson Adds 17, Tigers Use 11-0 Third Quarter Run To Help Defeat Kahoks 61-43

EDWARDSVILLE — Miccah Butler scored 18 points and freshman Matthew Wilson added 17 points as Edwardsville used an 11-0 third-quarter run to pull away from Collinsville for a 61-43 victory Friday night, Feb. 27, 2026, in the IHSA Class 4A boys basketball regional championship at Lucco-Jackson Gym.

The win lifted Edwardsville to 23-7 and sent the Tigers to a Rock Island Sectional semifinal against Alton at 7 p.m. Tuesday at a site to be announced. Collinsville finished its season 14-17.

It was the first regional title for Edwardsville coach Dustin Battas, who said he wanted to share the moment with his family.

“Coaching is a family endeavor,” Battas said with emotion. “And you want to share those moments with them, because they have to share a lot of the downs with you. I’m very proud of my family, and I’m grateful to be the coach at Edwardsville.”

Battas also reflected on the program’s expectations and the path to the championship.

“It’s been hard,” Battas said. “I know that Edwardsville has a lot of tradition, and we have high expectations for our program. I have high expectations for myself. ... Most people would probably not have predicted us to win a regional this year, but it just shows you if you have hard-working guys that are committed, and care about each other, you do it day-by-day. And by then, at the end of the season, you’re playing your best basketball, and I thought we played our best game tonight.”

Wilson helped Edwardsville open the game with an 8-0 lead, hitting a pair of early 3-pointers. Battas said the freshman’s start was expected.

“Wilson was impressive for a freshman, but I’m not surprised,” Battas said. “Because of the type of family he comes from. ... We thought he would be open early, because of the way they guarded us the last time. He took advantage of that, and we’re really proud of Matthew, but I’m honestly not surprised.”

Collinsville rallied to tie it 15-15 at the end of the first quarter, getting a 3-pointer from Jace Wilkinson and a three-point play from Jordan Taylor. Edwardsville carried a 32-27 lead into halftime after Wilkinson hit a late 3 to close the gap.

The decisive stretch came after Collinsville opened the second half by cutting the deficit to 32-29. Edwardsville answered with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 43-29.

“We had an 11-0 run,” Battas said, “sparked by a couple of turnovers that we forced. But, also, they shot it really well in the first half. We figured it was a light switch that we flipped, they missed some outside shots, and we got some easy baskets, and our defense led us into our offense as well.”

Collinsville pulled within 43-34 early in the fourth, but Edwardsville’s shooting and a dunk by Devyon Hill-Lomax helped the Tigers maintain control down the stretch.

Rowan Weller scored 10 points for Edwardsville, Brady Niemi had nine, Hill-Lomax scored four and Sire Borden added three. Collinsville was led by Taylor with 15 points, Wilkinson with 13 and CaMauri Mayes with 12. DeAndre Brown scored two and JuPaul Hudson had one.

Edwardsville will face Alton, which swept the season series between the teams, in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal. Battas said the matchup will be difficult.

“That’ll be hard,” Battas said. “Alton’s a tough match-up for us. I’d got a lot of respect for coach (Dylan) Dudley, and for Semaj and all their guys. So, f and try together a good game plan for Alton.”

The winner will advance to play either Homewood-Flossmoor or Chicago Brother Rice Catholic next Friday at 7 p.m. The sectional winner advances to an Illinois State University super-sectional game on March 9 at 7 p.m., with the state finals scheduled for March 13-14 at State Farm Center in Champaign-Urbana.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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