BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers nail down BIT with double-OT win
Pinckneyville needed double overtime in Saturday night's Benton Invitational Tournament finale against the host Rangers to nail down their tenth BIT title in the past eleven years, getting 27 points from sophomore Tyler Rulevish in a 73-67 win to finish 5-0.
Rulevish had three traditional three-point plays, made two three-point baskets, and shot 9-for-10 at the free throw line against Benton, and earned one of four Pinckneyville spots on the all-tournament team.
"He just played," said PCHS head coach Bob Waggoner. "I was more impressed with his rebounding, late in the game he was still jumping up there and getting them."
Brian Taylor, Tristan Fisher and Nolan Luke also made the all-tournament team for PCHS, and an argument could have also been made for fellow starter Adam Banach.
"Our five guys played more than anybody else in this tournament," Waggoner said "and to battle through an overtime win really shows the tremendous amount of heart that they have. It was just a great ball game."
"It's been a great week, a lot of guys stepped up and showed maturity. Adam Banach was a warrior tonight, he really gave us a lift late going in the post. I'm very proud, this one here is the best one. This one was not easy and it was not necessarily guaranteed, and our guys played through it. We had a lot of things going against us but we found a way, I'm really proud of them."
The starting five played all but just a handful of minutes for the Panthers against Benton, but trailed by as many as eight in the first half and by seven at the end of the third quarter.
"The minutes were going to be really important, each possession," said Waggoner. "I couldn't take too many chances on guys. You earn that in practice, but at the same time those guys have earned the right to win it and I told them it's theirs, so go get it."
Ranger Austin Wills made one of eleven Benton three-pointers on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give his team a 44-34 lead before Pinckneyville came to life.
A Rulvish three-point play with 3:31 to go in regulation completed a 15-6 spurt by the Panthers and cut the lead down to a single point.
Pinckneyville was down four with under a minute to go before Luke hit two free throws and Fisher stole an inbounds pass that led to a Luke stick-back with 26 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.
"We turned up the heat a little bit and really gutted it out," Waggoner said. "We had a chance to win but they hit a good shot. Wills and (Derek) Oxford really shot it well. They have a good ball club with a lot of youth, they shoot it well, but they played hard on the defensive end too."
Jumpers from Rulevish and Taylor gave Pinckneyville the lead in the first OT, but Wills hit a big three with six seconds to go to add four more minutes to the game clock.
Wills hit another one in the second extra period, but the Panthers went on an 9-0 run
started by layups from Banach and Luke. Rulevish was 4-for-4 at the line in the final minutes of OT number two.
Luke had 18 points, Banach 13, Taylor 9 and Fisher 6. Oxford led Benton with 25 points.
The Panthers (19-4) host Sparta on Friday and play in their own shootout on Saturday, tipping off at 8:30 p.m. against Cahokia.
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Panthers 60, Hamilton County 19 (Friday):</span>
Pinckneyville poured it on Hamilton County in Friday night's game at the BIT, whipping the Foxes 60-19 after outscoring them 25-5 through the first half.
Twelve different Panthers played and all of them scored - Rulevish (14 points), Luke (11), Banach (6), Fisher (5), Caulden Lazenby (5), Cale Jausel (4), Justin Bauersachs (4), Hayden Carter (4), Taylor (2), J.C. Moll (2), Jackson Brand (2) and Alex Howard (1).
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Panthers 56, Carlyle 42 (Saturday):</span>
Taylor led three Panthers in double figures with 14 points and PCHS fought off Carlyle for a 56-42 win on Saturday morning.
Fisher added 13 points, Banach 11, Rulevish and Luke each had 8, and Brand had two.