BASKETBALL: Gibault holds off Pinckneyville
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Foul trouble and turnovers cost Pinckneyville dearly as the Panthers fell 51-36 at Gibault High School (Waterloo) on Friday night, getting whistled seven times in the first period before the Hawks were called for a single foul.
"You're not going to get much rhythm whenever you get in that kind of foul trouble," said Pinckneyville head coach Bob Waggoner. "We just didn't play very well overall, we played in spurts, and you can't win against a senior-oriented team that has the depth they do, and the size, when you don't put together a complete game."
Seven of the Hawks ten first quarter points came at the charity stripe as Pinckneyville regulars Bryant Shute, Steve Brueggeman, Dylan Hardin and Hunter Queen were all saddled with 2 fouls by the end of the opening period.
Once the whistles calmed down a bit, it was the Panthers' offense letting them down.
After Brueggeman picked up his third foul with 6:20 left in the half, Waggoner called for time hoping to get his players back on the right track.
The opposite occured, however, as the Hawks went on a 9-0 run including four more free throws and a corner three-pointer from John Pratl, and Gibault led 20-8. The Panthers turned the ball over four times during the two minute stretch.
"Their strength and their pressure really bothered us, their length," said Waggoner. "We didn't respond too well to their pressure, and we've got to learn to do a better job of back-cutting and understanding that when teams are over-playing you, you need to take advantage of that. A lot of times strength doesn't prevail if you use intelligence."
Shute connected on a pair of three-pointers, the second coming with 2:06 left in the half to cut the lead to three, but the Hawks got the last five points of the half on a three from Matt Schreder and a tough layup from Pratl.
Brueggeman was good from long distance early in the third as the Panthers trailed 25-22, but Gibault would again have an answer with an 8-0 run.
Down nine points with five minutes left in the game, Pinckneyville's foul trouble resurfaced. The Hawks were 8-for-10 at the line over the next three and a half minutes to put it out of reach for the Panthers.
"You can't get out-rebounded, you can't get out-shot at the free throw line and have more turnovers and expect to win," said Waggoner.
Despite being double-teamed most of the night, Kyle Lamb still managed 15 points to lead PCHS.
"I think we could have communicated a little bit better with him that he was getting doubled, and I think that our guards could have cut off of them a little bit better to help him," Waggoner said.
"He saw the pressure, but he didn't understand exactly where he needed to get the ball out of that."
Shute added 8 points for the Panthers (1-1), Brueggeman 6, Payton Nippe 3, Hardin and Christian Shopinski 2.
Pratl led the Hawks with 14 points.
Pinckneyville's home opener is this Friday against Anna-Jonesboro (7:45 p.m.), and the Panthers will take on one of the area's top teams, Murphysoboro, next Saturday at the Marion Shootout (5:30 p.m.)