Panthers season ends in heartbreak

The Panthers impressive season and postseason run came to an end Tuesday night, suffering the same fate as the previous season as they fell to Nashville in the sectional semifinals once again by just a one basket, 43-40. <br />In a fourth-quarter that saw four lead-changes, with was the Hornets who got the final sting, getting a putback from Hayden Heggemeier after a number of offensive rebounds, leaving less than a second on the clock and giving them the final lead, 42-40. <br />After a successful and-one, the Panthers were unable to convert a half-court heave, ending their season at 29-3. <br />Pinckneyville came into the game as an arguable favorite, ranked No. 6 in the state and a 2-0 sweep of the regular season series with its SIRR Mississippi Division foe. <br />The game started and continued throughout as a back-and-forth battle, as neither team ever led by more than six. <br />Nashville was led by six-foot six forward Brogan Kemp, who opened up the game with an up-an-under layup to give his team the early advantage. <br />Pinckneyville freshman Dawson Yates answered with a layup of his own to knot the game at two apiece. <br />After trading baskets and free throws, Nashville jumped out to an 8-5 lead with a layup and foul shot midway through the first. <br />Grant Jausel answered with a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game back up. <br />A Kemp layup shortly after gave the Hornets the lead back, 12-8. <br />Panther senior answered with a layup as the Panthers headed into the second trailing, 12-10. <br />After a Jausel free throw to open up the second, the Hornets reeled off five unanswered with a layup and three-pointer to take a 17-11 lead two minutes into the quarter. <br />The Panthers pulled within two with a pair of free throws and layup from Kyle Luke, but the Hornets responded with a Kemp layup and subsequent free throw to maintain a 20-15 lead. <br />Hunter Clark closed out the scoring for the first half with a putback in transition to cut the Hornet lead to one possession heading into the second half, 20-17. <br />Tyler Rulevish cut the lead down to one, opening the third quarter with a pair of foul shots, but Nashville responded with four unanswered to extend its lead, 24-19. <br />A J.C. Moll layup got things going for the Panthers, as Rulevish followed up with a pair of baskets inside to give the Panthers its first lead of the game, 25-24. Moll followed up with a trey to extend the lead even further, 28-24 with three minutes left in the third. <br />But, the Hornets once again answered, closing out the third with six unanswered to gain a 30-28 lead heading into the fourth-quarter. <br />The Panthers quickly regained the lead, 31-30 as Jausel knocked down his second three of the game from the wing. <br />After a pair of foul shots from the Hornets, the Panthers quickly responded with five unanswered as Yates converted a three-point play and Rulevish knocked down a pair of free throws to give Pinckneyville a 36-32 lead with a little over five minutes to play. <br />Both teams traded baskets, as a Kemp tip-in brought the Hornets within two, but Rulevish answered with a pair of free throws as the Panthers led 40-36 with three mintues to play. <br />But, that would prove to be the Panthers final points, with Nashville tying the game up with a layup and a pair of free throws from Kemp with 2:36 left to play. <br />Pinckneyville controlled the ball for more than a minute-and-a-half before Kemp came up big, blocking a Panther layup with a little over thirty seconds left to play. <br />The Hornets capitalized, as chaos ensued underneath the baskets as a Nashville was able to convert on a stick-back from Heggemeier with less than a second remaining to ice the game. <br />The Panthers close out their season an impressive 29-3, having won its third-straight regional championship and a perfect regular season conference record (10-0).