BASKETBALL: Nashville clobbers Panthers to keep Mississippi lead

NASHVILLE, IL - Nashville prevented Pinckneyville from grabbing a share of the SIRR Mississippi Division lead on Friday night when they routed the Panthers 57-31 after scoring the final 14 points of the ball game.

The Panthers were out-rebounded "probably 3-to-1" in PCHS coach Bob Waggoner's words, and struggled against the Hornets' 6'6 big men Devin Holle and Royce Newman.

"The game is a simple game," Waggoner said. "You rebound, you take care of the ball, you take good shots, you execute, you win. If you don't do those things, you get beat. Tonight, the better team won. They rebounded, they executed, they took better shots - a lot of layups. We didn't follow the game plan very well."

Nashville led from start to finish, jumping ahead 6-0 before Pinckneyville got on the board with free throws midway through the opening quarter. Tristan Fisher's three-pointer at the end of the period cut the Hornets' lead down to 15-11.

The Hornets, as they did in every quarter, outscored the Panthers again in the second. A three from Kyle Jasper stretched the lead to eleven, and Newman's putback with 1:25 on the game clock gave Nashville their 27-18 halftime edge.

"When they were in that half-court trap, we got a second look or two," said NHS head coach Brad Weathers. "Typically they screen off very well. We got a couple second chances in there and scored on them. At one point they had four guards out there that could really put it on the floor and go, we were concerned with their penetration, getting to the glass and drawing fouls, things like that. Overall, we survived that."

Chris Priebe's basket to open the second half cut the lead to seven, but the Panthers got no closer and managed just four points in the entire fourth quarter. Chance Reuter hit two of his three triples in the final frame as the Hornets pulled away for good, taking mostly open jumpers and lay-ups down the stretch.

"I thought it took us a little while to get into that mode (of being selective on offense)," Weathers said, "but once we got there I thought we did a nice job of spreading the floor and making them overplay."

Dylan Hardin led the Panthers with 11 points, Priebe finished with 8, Luke Miller 5, Caleb Dahn 4 and Fisher 3. Newman (15 points), Holle (10) and Reuter (10) were each in double figures for the Hornets.

Pinckneyville had just 8 made field goals in the game to Nashville's 21.