Marinko, Robinson play key roles in Edwardsville opening win

CREVE COEUR, Mo. - Two keys to Edwardsville's season-opening win over DeSmet Tuesday night were senior Jack Marinko and junior Malik Robinson.

Marinko because of his hot hand most of the way against the Spartans; he scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half and helped keep the Tigers ahead most of the way.

Robinson because of his turnaround NBA-range three-pointer at the siren gave the Tigers a 47-44 win over the Spartans.

“I saw the time and saw there was one-point-something seconds left, so I just shot it,” Robinson said of his game-winner. “As soon as it left my hands, I thought it looked good and it went in.

“It was pretty good,” Robinson said of how it felt when his shot hit nothing but net. “I was pretty excited when it went in.”

Robinson was asked if he practiced shots like the one he had that led to the game-winner. “It was just in the moment,” Robinson said. “I just shot it; I don't really practice those.

“It was kind of getting close to the end – we worked really hard in practice; we deserved that win, so it was good to come away with it.”

Marinko is adjusting to a different role on this year's edition of the Tigers, taking more of a scoring role. “I'm really comfortable with that,” Marinko said. “My AAU team has a scoring role like that; I'm ready for anything new. Last year, I was just a shooter from the corner – Mark (Smith, who is now at Illinois) was there, but this year, I feel like it's a ball-handling role, a scoring-type role – I like that.

“I just let the offense come to me and I take things; I feel comfortable with that.”

On Robinson's game-winner, “it looked good from the hand,” Marinko said. “I just watched the ball and it came down and fell; it's just a great feeling.”

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