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Malik Allen Makes Big Contributions In Edwardsville's Win, Is An iCAN Clinic Male Athlete Of Month For Tigers

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Jan 26, 2022 9:45 AM Jan 26, 2022 9:53 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville boys basketball sophomore guard Malik Allen scored five points in the Tigers' 38-36 win over Cahokia in a game played Jan. 25 at Lucco-Jackson Gym. And along the way, made some big plays, especially defensively, in helping his team take the win over a Comanche side that had defeated Edwardsville last week in the Jersey Mid-Winter Classic 46-42.

Edwardsville's Malik Allen After losing three straight in the tournament, it was a win the Tigers definitely needed and got it in a very workmanlike effort against Cahokia.

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Malik Allen is an iCAN Clinic Male Athlete of the Month for Edwardsville High School.

"I'm feeling pretty good about the win we had," Allen said during a postgame interview. "We came out hard, worked hard in practice, made sure we were trying hard. The coaches just kept teaching and preaching 'play defense, we've got to play defense, we've got to play hard.' And that's what we did, we executed and got the win."

The defense was solid for the Tigers in the win, and Allen felt that the team was determined not to lose to the Comanches for the second time in a week.

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"We just had to get our (momentum) back," Allen said. "We couldn't come back and lose two games in a row to the same team. We knew we should have won the first game, but we didn't. So we had to prove that we were better in this game."

Going into the rematch, Allen had a simple goal for himself and his team.

"I was just trying to get the win," Allen said. "Do anything to help the team win tonight. Play defense, talk, communicate and it all worked out."

The Tigers are 10-12 going into a Southwestern Conference game Jan. 28 against O'Fallon, and Allen knows how important the game is.

"Yes, sir," Allen said with a confident smile. "We're going to come, we're going to practice two days and we're going to come out with a win."

With the stretch run of the season ready to commence, and the IHSA Class 4A playoffs looming, Allen is also confident that the Tigers are improving and will be a team that no one will look forward to playing against.

"I feel like we're getting better and better every week," Allen said. "So by the time that comes, we should be ready to play."

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