BASKETBALL: Panthers' resurgence continues with weekend wins

DU QUOIN, IL - Pinckneyville took a three-game losing streak into late December's Duster Thomas Hoops Classic, but after weekend road wins at Du Quoin and Vandalia, the Panthers have now been victorious in five of their last six contests and seem to have found some rhythm on offense.

PCHS met up with the Indians at Anders Gymnasium on Friday night and put them away by the end of the third quarter while Du Quoin's leading scorer, Brenden Fred, left with an injury late in the first half. The Panthers won 65-38, scoring their highest point total on offense in nearly a month.

"I think overall we're getting better, I think our chemistry is better," said Pinckneyville head coach Bob Waggoner. "I think offensively we have some guys who are starting to understand what their role is. It helps when you can spread the floor a little bit and knock down shots."

"The big thing offensively is that we're taking care of the ball better. I think that our ball movement and working the ball inside-out is a big advantage and Chris Priebe is definitely a post threat in there. They have to respect him and it opens up a lot of things for our outside guys."

Fred is scheduled for an MRI early this week and is considered day-to-day. While he was on the floor, however, he couldn't get a shot to fall and finished scoreless as PCHS's Tristan Fisher held him in check defensively.

"The physicality of the game got to us a little bit I thought," Du Quoin head coach Gabe Sveda said. "(Fred's) been struggling at times during the game and then he finds himself. He got some good looks, just didn't put them in."

"We've got to do a a better job, not settle, but if we don't make a shot we've got to go back and go to the boards and get some second-chance opportunities. They got some second chances, we didn't, and that was a big difference in the outcome right there."

Fisher also led the Panthers with 14 points, 12 coming in the first half.

"Tristan Fisher, if you look at him, he's guarding Du Quoin's best player, he's our leading scorer, and he's a sophomore that doesn't have any varsity experience," said Waggoner. "You look at how much he's improved from November to now, and knowing that the ceiling is unlimited with him and some of our other young guys who are playing, I just think we'll have a lot of good basketball in front of us."

Defensively, the Panthers forced the Indians into 23 turnovers on Friday night while committing only 5 of their own.

"I told our kids, along with the Olney game where we had 2 turnovers, that was the best I've seen in a long time," said Waggoner. "Du Quoin was really pressuring us and our kids were doing a good job of being fundamentally sound with the ball and ripping it through and getting it to where they can score."

The Indians committed 17 of those turnovers by the end of the third quarter helping account for a 20-point deficit.

"We've got to take care of the ball a lot better, Sveda said. "Their pressure got to us some. We have seniors out there that have to step up and be strong with the basketball."

The Panthers led in the early-going 9-2 before Du Quoin's Daulton Beltz hit a couple of shots inside and Daulton Donoghue buried a three-pointer from the corner to keep the game close in the first quarter.

Things began to turn in the second period when Fisher drilled a three to put PCHS up 21-12 and spark an 11-0 run for the Panthers, who led 30-14 at the break.

Pinckneyville got to the free throw line with regularity in the third, sinking 9-of-16 at the charity stripe to build on their lead.

Ten different Panthers scored with Fisher and Hardin (10 points) winding up in double figures. Priebe pitched in 9 points and led the team with 6 rebounds on the night. Sterling Bejma added 8 points, Nolan Luke 7, Luke Miller 6, Chase Lazenby 5, Brian Taylor 4 and Brandon Edwards and Adam Banach each had 1.

"I like our group overall," Waggoner said. "It's a good group of young men, they get along, they're unselfish. To be a good team you have to be that way, you have to think about the team first and I think we have 12 guys on the bench right now that are doing that."

For Du Quoin, Beltz had a game-high 20 points, Donoghue had 5, Deeja Cole and A.J. Smith 4, Spencer Cook 3 and Austin Mapps 2.

"(Pinckneyville's) defense was tough to go against, but anytime we give up 65 points it's going to be tough for us," said Sveda. "We had a tough time scoring at times. We've got to keep the game in the 40's and 50's to have a chance. Give them credit for coming out and executing their game plan."

Pinckneyville wrapped up their weekend with a hard-fought 56-52 win at Vandalia while the Indians struggled again without Fred at home against Massac County, falling 60-40.

The Panthers (10-7) host Sparta this Friday night at Thomas Gymnasium before next week's Benton Invitational Tournament. DHS (6-7) will travel to Nashville on Friday before hosting Trico on Saturday, then will head to Sparta starting January 15th for the Mid-Winter Classic.

Pinckneyville also won the J-V contest by the score of 60-27. Henry Dudek led the J-V Panthers with 13 points.

-Pinckneyville 56, Vandalia 52

The Panthers didn't trail at any point after taking the lead early in the second quarter and fought off Vandalia 56-52 despite not holding an advantage any higher than 7 points for the entire game.

Clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter were part of Hardin's game-high 17-point performance to lead PCHS to their second win of the weekend.

Priebe added 16 points, Fisher and Caleb Dahn each had 6, Miller 5, and Luke, Bejma, and Edwards finished with 2.

-Massac County 60, Du Quoin 40

Without Fred, the Indians failed to keep pace offensively with the visiting Patriots who led 21-9 after eight minutes on their way to a 60-40 triumph at Anders Gym.

Du Quoin fought back in the second half, but couldn't get the lead under 15 points in the final frame.

Beltz had another big night in the paint, going for 16 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort, including the first five points of the fourth quarter when DHS attempted a late rally.

"We didn't lay down," Sveda said, "I thought in the first half at times we did lay down, but in the second half we didn't, we fought all 16 minutes. At some point, shots are going to fall for us."