BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers beat Jerseyville, finish third at DTHC
Pinckneyville finally got a win over Jersey High School at the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic, but unlike the past two years, the two teams were matched up this holiday season in the third place game, not the championship. The tournament host Panthers beat the other Panthers in blue 47-26 on Saturday night, as Jersey shot just 25% from the floor and their two all-tournament team representatives managed only one field goal made on fifteen combined attempts.
PCHS finished third with the victory, which came a few hours after their lone loss of the weekend, a 41-39 loss to tournament runner-up Gibault. The Hawks nearly won the whole thing, dropping the championship to Carterville 65-61 in overtime.
"I thought our kids responded well and showed a lot of maturity, a lot of toughness," said Pinckneyville coach Bob Waggoner after the third place game. "I really thought they did a great job of guarding against their best players. We thought they had three players that were very good, and we tried to limit what they could do, and really rebounded the ball well against a bigger squad, that was a big difference in the game."
"I thought our kids really defended well. A little of (Jersey's offensive struggle) might be fatigue with the legs, but Tristan Fisher was awful good on their point guard, Adam Banach had a great tournament - I thought he did a great job of Varble, and we battled in there with (Shively) and didn't let him get very many open looks. He's a very good inside-out player, a tough matchup for a lot of people. Overall it was a really good tournament for us."
PCHS gradually extended their edge throughout the first three quarters against Jersey, leading 10-7, 28-19, and 37-25 at the breaks. But it was a 10-1 fourth quarter for the host Panthers that put the dagger in Jersey's hopes, including a steal and fast-break lay-up from Brian Taylor about a minute into the final period that seemed to suck the remaining life out of any comeback aspirations.
"Brian got out there in the passing lane and got a breakaway," Waggoner said. "I think all year our kids have given us a chance to win with their defense, if we continue to improve offensively I think we're going to be an awful tough out come the postseason."
Jerseyville shot just 2-for-16 from the floor in the second half.
Nolan Luke had 15 points to lead Pinckneyville in scoring, and was joined by fellow-Panther Adam Banach on the DTHC all-tournament team. Banach's scoring numbers might not jump off the page, but he finished the tournament with nine offensive rebounds, many of which he stuck back in for points.
"(Banach's) improvement has been tremendous over the last two years," said Waggoner. "His strength, his athleticism, but more so his toughness. Now he's getting more skilled around the basket, he can score, he's definitely an offensive threat for us. I think his energy lifts the rest of his teammates. I just told him, 'you're a man out here,' and that's one of the biggest comments I can give one of our kids. They play tough, they're gritty, and I think (Banach) is a really big part of what we do."
Fisher was also in double figures against Jersey with fourteen points. Caleb Dahn had five points, Banach and Taylor four, Clayton Houghland three, and Tyler Rulevish two.
The PCHS Panthers seemed to have control of Saturday morning's semifinal game against Gibault (Waterloo), but the Hawks made two big second half runs to erase a nine-point halftime hole and earn their spot in the DTHC Gold Pool finals with a 41-39 victory.
Pinckneyville started strong and entered the halftime break up 22-13 and still led by nine at 26-17 when the Hawks came to life. Jacob Reuter, Trevor Davis and Jacob Bircher all hit three-pointers during Gibault's 11-0 run in the third quarter, which gave them a two-point lead.
The Panthers fired back with an 11-2 run of their own and looked to have righted the ship, but again the Hawks responded while PCHS didn't find the bucket in the final six minutes of the game. Gibault finished off the fourth quarter with the game's final nine points, including a free throw line jumper by Davis to break a 39-39 tie with less than three seconds on the clock.
Houghland's sixteen points led the Panthers against the Hawks. Fisher added eight, Dahn five, Taylor and Luke four, and Banach two.
Pinckneyville cruised in both of their Friday wins, knocking off Red Bud 48-27 and defeating Unity (Tolono) 62-47.
The Panthers put the Musketeers away early with a 15-2 first quarter and won easily despite 17 turnovers and a 30% performance from the floor.
Fisher (11 points), Banach (9), Houghland (8), Luke (8), Taylor (7), Dahn (3) and Hayden Carter (2) scored for PCHS against Red Bud.
In the win over Unity, the Panthers again started strong, leading 17-7 after the first quarter and 32-20 at the break. Luke led the way with 20 points. Banach (14), Houghland (9), Fisher (7), Taylor (6), Rulevish (2), Dahn (2) and Alex Howard (2) all scored against the Rockets.
Pinckneyville (11-3, 3-0) will host Waterloo this Friday night at Thomas Gymnasium.