BOYS BASKETBALL: PJHS beats S-V for Regional title

While they didn't exactly close it out with style, allowing Sesser-Valier to finish the game on a 13-1 run, the Junior Panthers found a way to earn their trip to the state tournament next week, knocking off the Red Devils 64-61 to win their Class M Regional at Christopher on Thursday night.

"They did just enough to hang on," admitted Pinckneyville head coach Haven Hicks, "but they played their guts out for four quarters, so they deserved to win. They've earned it. They gutted it out, and that's what it came down to at the end. Our guys refused to lose there at the end. Tomorrow's a new day."

The Junior Panthers broke open a close game with a 12-0 run in the third quarter that featured three-pointers from Devin Kitchen and Chase Fulkerson. Another 9-1 run later in the period was capped off by a Dawson Yates three that made it 52-34 Pinckneyville with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

"We had some guys that took advantage of the way the game was being called," Hicks said. "They were calling fouls when we would go to the hole, so my guys did a good job of figuring that out and taking what they were giving us."

But Sesser-Valier stuck around, rattling off the next seven points to keep it a ball game.

After Dylan Houghland seemed to dagger the Devils with a three with 3:08 to play to give PJHS a 59-43 lead, Sesser-Valier responded by scoring 18 points in the last three minutes of the game. Despite a poor performance at the free throw line by the Junior Panthers (3-for-14), Pinckneyville was able to hang on.

"We got into some foul trouble late that scared me a little bit," said Hicks, "but we had three guys on the bench come in at the end and do a wonderful job."

Yates had 21 points to lead Pinckneyville in scoring. Fulkerson added 13 points, Kitchen 11, Houghland 9, Hunter Riggins 6 and Austin Alspach 4.

The Junior Panthers (21-4) are now off until the SIJHSAA Class M Boys State Tournament, which begins for PJHS on February 6 at Rend Lake College with their 3:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup against Meridian.