St. Mary's Races Past Althoff in Alton Tip Off Classic

St. Mary's senior guard Miles Jones said his team likes to play fast.

"Just get it and go," Jones said.

That may have been an understatement.

St. Mary's flew up and down the court with reckless abandon Tuesday on the way to an 89-38 win over Althoff in the Alton Tip-Off Classic at Alton High.

"We have a lot of experienced guys and we want to get those guys playing time," St. Mary's coach Bryan Turner said. "The best way to get them playing time is having a fast-pace game. We have guys who are picking up full court, high energy, high octane-type defense. You go as hard as you can, ask for a blow, and then come right back out there."

St. Mary's (1-0), the defending Class 4 District 3 champions, set the tempo from the get-go. The Dragons picked up full court pressure and forced Althoff (0-1) to play at a much quicker pace.

"They look like a group that has been playing together for four years and we look like a team that has been playing together for 13 practices," Althoff coach Greg Leib said. "No excuses though. They came out and played their game and we didn't play ours and that's where we're at with the scoreboard."

St. Mary's limited Althoff to just six baskets in the first half.

"We want to press the whole game because we have a deep bench," Jones said. "If anybody is tired, just ask for a breather."

But that kind of intense, nearly constant pressure at breakneck speed finally caught up to Althoff in the third quarter.

St. Mary's forced 10 turnovers on the way to a 28-12 advantage.

"You tell guys that you should let your defense dictate your offense," Turner said. "That's what we're trying to do."

St. Mary's was playing without standout point guard Yuri Collins, who is on his way back from injury. But the Dragons offense was in midseason form. They shot nearly 60 percent from the field. Jones led the way with 21 points. 

"All these guys are veterans, experienced and they love basketball," Turner said. "They're hard-working kids who have been in the gym since last year and it's just a next man up situation."

Althoff turned the ball over 29 times against St. Mary's full-court press.

Still, Leib sees the contest as a learning experience for his young group.

"They do such a nice job of rotating and that was a good experience for us," Leib said. "If we see that kind of press again, we'll be just that much better for it. That's the process of it. Basketball is a long season and it's a long way from now until March."

St. Mary's will play Carbondale (0-1) on Wednesday. Althoff takes on Carnhan (1-0). - By Paul Halfcare of the St. Louis Post Dispatch