BASKETBALL: Panthers fight off late charge from Sparta
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville led by as many as 17 points, but had to fight off a late charge by Sparta before hanging on to a 42-35 road win on Friday night.
The victory leaves the Panthers' record in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference's Mississippi Division at an unblemished 5-0 after playing each opponent once. PCHS holds a one-game lead in the standings over 4-1 Nashville as conference play takes a brief hiatus for mid-winter tournaments.
"It's a tribute to our kids," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner. "We went through some things, some sicknesses, some injuries, and it's good for them to be in this position. They are the ones that have earned that and I'm happy for them."
Aside from Payton Nippe, the Panthers were just 4-of-10 at the free throw line. Nippe, however, was a perfect 14-for-14 at the stripe and scored 18 points to lead the way.
The Bulldogs had cut Pinckneyville's lead to just six with a minute to play, but Nippe hit a pair of free throws then got to the hoop for a lay-up on back-to-back possessions to help the Panthers get some separation.
"We really had control of the game and we just quit doing the things we needed to do offensively," Waggoner said. "We just went through the motions a little bit tonight."
Dylan Hardin, playing on a tender ankle, added 7 points for PCHS, as did Luke Miller. Bryant Shute had 6 points, Justin Bumann 4. Aaron Rushing led Sparta with 18 points in the losing effort.
On Monday night, the Panthers will put a number of winning streaks on the line at Rich Herrin Gymnasium as the 2012 Benton Invitational Tournament gets underway.
Pinckneyville takes on Benton in the 9:00 p.m. game looking for their 36th consecutive victory at the B.I.T. and 39th overall at Rich Herrin Gym. The Panthers have won the last seven B.I.T.'s with a perfect mark of 5-0 each year. Pinckneyville's varsity basketball team has not tasted defeat in Benton since 2004.
The Panthers are hopeful that senior guard Hunter Queen, out with mononucleosis, will be able to return to action on Monday night, however Waggoner stated the team will take a cautious approach.
"Winning the B.I.T. isn't as important as being ready to play in March," Waggoner said. "I'm not going to push it any more than he feels he can. We want him to get healthy, we don't want him to play five games and get hurt and have to sit the rest of the year."
After Monday's meeting with the Rangers, the Panthers will return on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. to face Carlyle. Friday at 9:00 p.m. Pinckneyville takes on Okawville, then on Saturday the Panthers face Hamilton County at 2:00 p.m. before returning at 7:30 to met Sesser-Valier.
"It is a marathon against five teams, and the competition this year is going to be very good," said Waggoner. "I really think the B.I.T. will make us a better team after we're done with it this year, because we're going to play good teams."