Love affair continues with Alton High School basketball team

ALTON - Alton has always had a love affair with its basketball teams, but this year the team is riding a crest that would rival some of the runs of the past.

Alton had an enormous crowd at Tuesday night’s IHSA Class 4A Pekin Sectional.  AHS Athletic Director Jeff Alderman said he expects a good crowd on Friday as well when the Redbirds face 30-1 Normal Community at Pekin.

There will be no advance sales of tickets on Friday. Tickets will go on sale at 5 p.m. for the 7 p.m. game. Tickets were tight at the Belleville East Sectional semifinal contest, but Alderman said there should be plenty for Friday.

“The Pekin gym has close to 5,000 seats, so tickets should not be a problem,” he said. “Our fans have been great all year. We have had tremendous support. Our people love their basketball and they get out and support our kids.”

This year’s group is constantly slamming the ball through the hoop and is one of the most entertaining teams in Alton history.

“The kids are fun to watch,” Alderman said. “They play hard. What is impressive to me is they play not only the offensive, but defensive side of the ball. It is obvious they are all first class kids and the coaches do a great job with them.”

The athletic director said his phone rang off the hook on Wednesday and he expects to take multiple student buses up to Pekin on Friday, along with the groundswell of adult fan support.

“Our current kids bring out a lot of the tradition for basketball that has existed over the years and people have a lot to be proud of this season,” he said.

Riverbender.com is broadcasting the game live at www.riverbender.com/video/live.

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