After losing two straight games heading into the winter break, the OHS boys basketball team looked for answers. During a four game stretch in the annual Collinsville Holiday tournament, they found that answer; get the ball in the hands of seniors Austin Gillmann and Ervin Sarajlic.

To say that Gillmann and Sarajlic had a big role in the Tigers success in the Collinsville Tournament would be not giving them enough credit. They dominated games, taking control and leading OHS to a 5th place finish and 3-1 record in the tournament.

The Tigers played impressive defeating three formattable opponents in Springfield Southeast, McCluer North, and Chicago Marshall. The Tigers one loss came against Belleville East, but the Tigers still put up a good fight against the Illinois powerhouse who undoubtedly got the better end of the officiating.

Sarajlic played like a cold-blooded scorer in all of the games. Rattling off four straight games of impressive scoring (32, 24, 25, and 25) Sarajlic was key in the Tigers success. Playing around the rim, he dominated other teams by getting easy layups and popping the occasional three pointer. Averaging close to 28 a game, Sarajlic looks to have got into his groove and should put upcoming opponents on alert. He is ready to score and score at will.

Though Sarajlic’s performance in the tournament was quite impressive, he was not the only star that shined. 6’10” Austin Gillmann was dominate as well. After sitting most of the first two games due to foul trouble, Gillmann turned it on in the last two games. He had a 26 point and 17 rebound performance followed up by a 29 point, 19 rebound game. Coming one rebound short of tying the tournament record for rebounds, Gillmann will look to propel his stellar play into the new year as the Tigers will get into conference play soon.

The Tigers will take on Holt in a makeup game due to the earlier date being cancelled due to snow this evening (Jan. 3). The game tips at 5:30pm in Gym A at OHS.