BASKETBALL: Hornets take Regional to the bank

SPARTA, IL - Seven first-half three-pointers - including two from bench player Kyle Jasper, and one apiece from big men Royce Newman and Devin Holle that both banked in - helped carry Nashville to their first boys basketball Regional title since 2007 this past Friday night in Sparta. The Hornets outscored Pinckneyville 15-2 in the second quarter and held on for a 59-44 victory, their third over the Panthers this season.

"Thankfully we were able to knock down some shots," said NHS head coach Brad Weathers. "They were trying to help inside and we got some open looks. Kyle Jasper came off the bench and hit two big threes. I know we had some other kids, our big kids both banked in threes. We actually do work on that shot every day, but not banking it in."

The Panthers' objective on defense was clear from the get-go: take away the inside game from the Hornets. After forcing a jump ball on Nashville's first post feed of the night, the Panthers got the ball inside to their big man, Chris Priebe, for the game's first basket.

Back at the other end of the floor moments later, Pinckneyville again denied anything down low, leaving Holle wide open for a three-pointer - something the Panthers were more than willing to live with defensively. The 6'6 senior banked home the triple as a sign of things to come.

Keegan Anderson and Scott Brown added threes later in the period, but the Panthers stayed close after Nolan Luke connected from downtown at the buzzer with a defender's hand in his face to make the score 16-14 Hornets. Unfortunately for PCHS, it would be their last bucket for six minutes.

"We just missed a lot of open looks," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner. "I thought we got the ball in the lane when we wanted to. We knew that we'd have to play a pull-up game because of their size inside, we just didn't hit and they did. That's the difference this time of year."

As Pinckneyville continued to collapse on Newman in the post with a double-team, the 6'6 freshman phenom continued to kick the ball out for open jump shots. Anderson hit his second three with 3:20 to go in the half for a 22-14 lead, and Jasper's two trifectas came sandwiched around the Panthers' only field goal of the second quarter - a driving basket by Dylan Hardin with 2:00 on the clock.

"We got a little momentum going into halftime," said Weathers, "and that really helped us because we knew Pinckneyville was going to play extremely hard, they're extremely well-coached. They weren't going to go away, so that was important that we went into halftime with the momentum. If we hadn't have had that run in the second quarter, it's a different ball game."

Already up 28-16, the Hornets held onto the ball for the final minute-plus of the half to take the last shot, but didn't get the one they wanted. Instead, with time winding down, Newman fired one up from beyond the arc that kissed off the glass before falling through for Nashville's fourth three-pointer of the period. In the game, the Hornets shot 8-for-10 (80%) from three-point range.

"You've got to take away something when you've lost twice," said Waggoner. "The object of the game was to try and take away the inside play, make a couple players that haven't shown they can hit threes (shoot them), and tonight they make them, now you're in trouble. I thought overall we followed the game plan, did what we wanted to do, but you've have to tip your hat to Nashville. A couple kids stepped up, made shots, they banked some in. In a tight game where possessions are valuable, if teams make those kind of shots you're probably not going to come out on top."

Pinckneyville played even with Nashville in the second half, but couldn't put a serious dent into the big deficit they faced at the break. Newman started to find some points in the paint, seemingly putting the ball in the hoop every time there was no double-team to deter him. He had eight points in the third quarter where the Panthers got no closer than down twelve after a three and two free throws from Hardin.

"(Newman) was able to convert with some nice moves," Weathers said. "When they did double, he was able to kick it out a few times. You've got to complement Pinckneyville's defense. At times we tossed it away a little more than I would have liked, but a lot of that had to do with their pressure."

Tristan Fisher also had a conventional three-point play in the third, but missed out on three other opportunities in and-one situations at the free throw line on the night. As a team, Pinckneyville made just 5-of-13 at the charity stripe.

Every time the Panthers made a big shot, the Hornets had an answer. When Luke Miller sank a three with 5:21 to play, Newman quickly got the ball inside and drew a foul before hitting both free throws. Miller drove in for a lay-up and a foul with 3:47 to to go, but again Pinckneyville couldn't build any momentum, sending Chance Reuter to the line where he made two free throws a minute later.

Nolan Luke spun in the lane for a tough hoop with 1:41 remaining to bring the Panthers to within 53-40, but the Hornets continued to milk the game clock and stand tall at the line making 11-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter to help maintain a double-digit lead throughout the entire second half.

"They did a nice job (running out the clock), but the game was decided before that," Waggoner said. "I really thought the difference was their start and how they got the lead on us and we had to play from behind. I'm going to give them credit, I'm happy for them that they'll be representing our conference in the Sectional, but at the same time I'm extremely happy for our kids, for the season they've had, and for the effort they've given - we have nothing to hang our head about."

Newman finished up with a game-high 24 points for Nashville, adding a team-high 3 assists. Anderson was the only other Hornet in double-digit scoring with 11 points while Daniel Thorson led NHS in rebounds with 8.

Fisher topped Pinckneyville's scorebook with 11 points, Hardin had 10, Priebe and Miller 6, Luke 5, Brandon Edwards and Braden Kitowski 3.

Pinckneyville's season ends with a record of 20-11, Nashville (23-7) moves on to the Class 2A West Frankfort Sectional where they will take on Mt. Carmel in Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal. Chester meets Harrisburg in the other semifinal on Wednesday.