GODFREY — It was a game that appeared out of reach, then was suddenly there for the taking.

Alton fell behind Granite City early Friday night, but when the waning moments came, the Redbirds had clawed their way back to within striking distance. Granite City survived, however, and claimed a 72-69 Southwestern Conference victory in front of a large and noisy crowd at AHS.

With standout Maurice Edwards on the bench, having fouled out in the third quarter, Marcus Latham assumed the mantle for the Redbirds. He and his teammates trailed 51-35 heading into the fourth quarter, but put together a rally that saw them get within a point at 70-69 with 9.2 seconds remaining.

But Granite City’s Kenny Berry hit a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left to make it 72-69 and the Warriors sweated out a hectic last few seconds.

After Berry’s free throws, Alton had one last gasp. Tre Smith missed the first of two free throws with 0.1 second left. He then intentionally missed the second free throw, but while Alton got the rebound, there wasn’t enough time remaining to get off a shot.

The loss drops Alton to 9-7 overall and 5-3 in the Southwestern Conference,Granite City is 10-10 and 4-5. The Warriors’ victory made amends for their 65-59 loss to the redbirds earlier in the season in Granite City. Following a trip to Galesburg Saturday, the Redbirds will get back into SWC action Feb. 5 at Belleville East.

“We came out flat and (Granite City) wasn’t,” Alton coach Eric smith said. “Their 1-3-1 did a good job of slowing us down early and created some indecision on what we wanted to do.

“We just didn’t look prepared.”

The Redbirds had gotten within 70-69 when Latham nailed a trey, while falling back and surrounded by a pair of Granite City defenders. Latham pleaded for a foul on the shot, but none was called.

Latham led the Redbirds with 25 points and Ty’ohn Trimble added 11.

“Offensively, (Latham) did a good job in the second half,” Smith said. “He came alive on offense.”

The Warriors were led by Berry, who scored 25 and Allen, who scored 23 points.

Alton, after trailing by double digits in the first half, rallied early in the third, but lost Maurice Edwards when he fouled out with 3:34 remaining in the period.

“Maurice is a talented player and can do a lot for us,” Smith said. “But I’m not sure him fouling out was much of a deal breaker. The same guys were on the floor after he fouled out and we made a run at them”

There were 60 fouls called in the game. The Redbirds’s Kevin Caldwell Jr. also fouled out, as did Granite City’s Allen. “And I think just about everybody else had four fouls on them when the game ended,” Smith said.

Edwards had scored back-to-back baskets to start the second half and draw Alton within 32-18. A pair of free throws by Tre Smith and one by Marcus Latham made it 32-22. The Redbirds managed to climb within nine points on a free throw by Kevin Caldwell, then got within six points when Latham scored a basket with 4:1 remaining in the period.

But the Warriors regained their footing and stretched the lead back to 47-31 he

The Redbirds managed just six points in the first quarter and just eight in the second. Granite City wasn’t setting the court ablaze, either, at least in the first quarter, when the Warriors outscored Alton 14-6.

Berry did get things started quickly for the Warriors. He hit three consecutive shots, including a pair of treys, to give Granite City an 8-1 lead. Berry scored 10 points in the quarter. Teammate Ron Allen’s putback made it 10-1 midway through the quarter.

And while the Warriors managed just two more baskets the rest of the quarter, Alton managed a pair of inside baskets and a free throw.

The Warriors cooled off early in the second quarter and led just 20-10 midway through. But they outscored the Redbirds 10-4 the rest of the quarter.

Berry, whose hot shooting staked Granite City to its early lead, scored six points in the second quarter, but all three were on free throws. The Warriors led 30-14 at halftime.