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BASKETBALL: T-Town in control after downing Panthers

Posted December 28, 2011 10:00 pm

Doug Daniels

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville and Red Bud tipped off at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning to officially begin the 2011 Duster Thomas Hoops Classic, and the defending holiday tournament champions received a scare right out of the gates.

Despite leading by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, the Panthers had a fight on their hands in the closing minute before hitting enough free throws to hold off the Musketeers 53-49.

Chris Priebe came off the bench to lead PCHS with 14 points in the victory.

"We got in a little foul trouble," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner. "We got the lead and missed the front end of some one-and-ones, we could have really extended that lead and instead (Red Bud) started chipping away at it."

It was Red Bud in control of the game midway through the second quarter as the Musketeers held a 24-16 advantage before the Panthers began to rally.

Bryant Shute sank two free throws to start a 13-0 run that included buckets from Payton Nippe, Justin Bumann, and also a three-pointer from Shute before the first half horn sounded with Pinckneyville up 29-24.

An 11-0 Panther run in the third quarter seemingly put the game out of reach at 40-26 as Priebe scored on a three-point play, then on a stick-back during the stretch, but Red Bud refused to go quietly.

"I thought we really put ourselves in great position there in the third quarter," Waggoner said, "it seemed like we sort of let down a little bit and let them back in the ball game."

After closing the gap to ten after three periods of play, the Musketeers outscored the Panthers 10-1 over the first four minutes of the final frame with Jacob Kueker's bucket cutting Pinckneyville's lead to a single point at 44-43.

Hunter Queen responded with a big three-pointer for the Panthers, however, then Nippe and Bumann each knocked down two free throws in the final minute to keep Pinckneyville in front.

Shute joined Priebe in double figures with 11 points, Queen had 9, Dylan Hardin 7, Nippe and Bumann 6. Hardin suffered a sprained ankle which limited his playing time both against Red Bud and in the nightcap versus Teutopolis.

The Musketeers were led by Garett Salger's 18 points, Kueker finished with 14.

<u>Shoes establish themselves as favorites</u>

Pinckneyville was no match for Teutopolis on Tuesday night as the Wooden Shoes put themselves in the driver's seat to represent Pool A in Wednesday's championship with a 53-39 defeat of the Classic host.

The Panthers held a slim 13-12 lead after one quarter, but the Shoes held them to just one field goal and one free throw in the second period to build a lead they would not surrender.

"I thought at times tonight we were pretty out-manned," said Waggoner. "But I'll give our kids credit, we never quit fighting, and T-Town is a very good team."

"I thought our kids battled and I thought they were well-prepared, we just didn't do a good enough job on the boards and didn't do a good enough job taking care of the ball."

Down 35-18, the Panthers clawed their way back at the end of the third quarter as Luke Miller scored on a conventional three-point play with 58 seconds on the clock, then Nippe sank a shot before the close of the quarter to cap off a 9-0 spurt for PCHS.

Pinckneyville got no closer, however, as T-Town scored the first four points of the final frame and never looked back. The Shoes held the Panthers to just 12-of-32 (37.5%) shooting from the floor and out-rebounded them 29-13 in the game.

"They're athletic," Waggoner said of the Shoes. "That's one thing you can't prepare for is athletes, and they have more athletes than we do. They have kids that can get up and down the floor, and they're longer, and they run well. I thought their athleticism showed through."

Nippe led the Panthers with 13 points, Queen had 10, Bumann 7, Shute 6 and Miller 3. T-Town was led by Jarred Waldhoff's 13 points.

After one day of play at Pinckneyville, Teutopolis and Benton are the only unbeatens that remain. The Rangers will meet Du Quoin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and already own a win over the Indians during the Tip-Off Classic earlier this season. Teutopolis can punch their ticket to the title game with a win over Red Bud at 1:00 p.m.

Pinckneyville (8-2) takes on Steeleville at 10:00 a.m., and with a win will likely play for third place at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday evening.

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