Panthers sweep; take ninth Benton Invitational Tournament title in 13 years
The Panthers were the team to beat going into the 2020 Benton Invitational Tournament, and in the end nobody could, although host team Benton gave it everything they had and made the championship game into a great one.
When we last left the Panthers (Friday's paper) they had warmed up to the tournament with their opening victory over Sesser-Valier, 50-22. On Wednesday, they rolled over Hamilton County 58-24. Next up were Meridian, Vandalia and finally, Benton.
<b>Pinckneyville 74; Meridian 39</b>
Pinckneyville started fast, then hit from outside and inside to run their record to 3-0 in the B.I.T. . Devin Kitchen led the charge for the Panthers, hitting buzzer-beaters at the end of both the 1st and 2nd quarters on his way to a team-leading 19 points.
A balanced Panther attack gave them their third consecutive continuous clock in the tournament, gaining a full quarter of rest for the starters. Kitchen started the Panther scoring, followed by a 3-point play for Dawson Yates. One Meridian field goal interrupted a Pinckneyville run with Kitchen hitting a 3-pointer, Dré Scott taking an inbounds feed from Yates for a basket, then Yates scoring inside for an early 12-2 lead. Scott got a field goal and two free throws, and Hunter Riggins drew a charge on the up-tempo Bobcats in the quarter, before Kitchen finished the quarter for a 19-7 lead.
Hunter Riggins hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, and the Panthers stretched the up-tempo game with a balanced attack. When Coach Waggoner stated that the team "shared the ball well," this really came through with Riggins, Yates, Kitchen, and Grant Tanner all scoring on multiple chances in the quarter. Pinckneyville stopped the Bobcats on many attempts to run-out for quick baskets, resulting in a number of turnovers, Riggins drawing another charge, and the Panthers finishing the 19-point quarter on Kitchen's 2nd buzzer-beater for a 38-20 lead.
The Panthers left no doubt about the game's outcome as they roared to a 24-9 advantage in the third quarter. Kitchen opened the quarter with another 3-pointer, followed by a Ben Restoff basket, and a 3-pointer by Yates, before the Bobcats put up their first point over two minutes into the quarter. The Panthers kept up the heat, turning defense into offense for multiple breakaway baskets by Tanner, Vaden Szczepanski and Kitchen to stretch the lead to 61-29, with starters out for the last minute of the quarter as well.
The continuous clock gave some of the Panther bench players the full fourth quarter of action. Freshman Pearson Launius made the most of his varsity minutes, scoring 8. That matched Scott's total for the game, Grant Tanner had 9, and Yates 14, to follow Kitchen's 19. Hunter Riggins chipped in 6 and Szczepanski 7, giving Coach Waggoner a birthday win as the Panthers moved to 19-2 on the season.
<b>Pinckneyville 61; Vandalia 28</b>
The Panthers moved into the final day of the tournament right where a lot people expected - unbeaten.
They started the day by rolling over Vandalia, as three Panthers scored in double figures, led by Dré Scott with 20 points, half of them on free throws, as he dominated the inside game.
The Panther's first quarter defense stifled the Vandals, holding them to two field goals: the first one of the game, the other after five minutes without a point.
Meanwhile, the Panthers showed their balance in a 14-0 run, with Grant Tanner scoring two field goals, Scott one, Dawson Yates a 3-pointer and two free throws, and Hunter Riggins finishing the run with a 3-pointer, adding a field goal to finish the quarter at 16-4.
The Panthers rushed some shots and were not as sharp as in previous games, but the Vandals could not capitalize as their outside shooting also was cold.
Scott took over in the 2nd quarter, with Devin Kitchen and Dawson Yates feeding him in the paint for points or trips to the free-throw line. His 10-point quarter supported by a Kitchen field goal and two free-throws by Yates extended the Panther lead to 30-12 at halftime. The Panther defense again limited the Vandals in the rough and ragged quarter, with the Panthers' depth keeping fresh players on the court to stymie Vandalia.
Pinckneyville started on an 8-0 run in the third quarter, with a dunk by Scott opening the scoring and then adding two free throws, followed by Kitchen and Yates hitting field goals. Vandalia tried to turn up the pressure with rough play in the quarter, but the Panthers answered with points by Yates, Tanner, and Szczepanski taking the lead to 52-24 at quarter's end, after flirting with a 30-point lead.
Within a minute into the final quarter, Scott's two free throws took the lead to 30 for the fourth straight continuous clock for the Panthers at the B.I.T. It was another chance for starters to rest and for other players to get quality minutes.
Szczepanski's field goal, a free throw by Duke Riggins, and a three-pointer by Nile Adcock finished the Panther scoring for a 61-28 final. Yates had 13 and Tanner 10 to join Scott in double figures.
The win moved the Panthers to 20-2 on the season and set the stage for a championship game against Benton, also 4-0 in the tournament.
<b>Pinckneyville 64; Benton 60</b>
Pinckneyville and Benton each battled through the week's competition to set up a classic championship game of 4-0 teams on Saturday night. The final 32 minutes of the championship game saw 11 ties, 16 lead changes, Benton's largest lead of eight points in the first quarter, Pinckneyville's greatest advantage of 6 points in the fourth quarter, a raucous crowd in Rich Herrin Gym cheering, reacting, and complaining about every shot, point and referee's call until the clock reached :00 and the scoreboard read 64-60 in favor of the visitors.
The title game wasn't anything like the rest of the tournament for Pinckneyville. Benton fired out fast in the 1st quarter behind leading scorer Reece Johnson. Pinckneyville's Dré Scott opened the game with a basket in the post and had 9 points in the quarter, but Benton hit three 3-pointers by different players, and Johnson added three field goals that helped the Rangers to a 15-7 lead at quarter's end. Besides Scot's dominant post play, Hunter Riggins had the other 2 points for the Panthers.
The Panthers' leader and All-Tournament top vote-getter Dawson Yates started the 2nd quarter with a pair of free throws and hit two 3-pointers to tie the game at 19-19 for the first of four ties in the quarter, along with four lead changes. Grant Tanner nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and hit another field goal, while Riggins and Ben Restoff also scored for Pinckneyville. The tight, back-and-forth quarter ended with a 33-30 Benton lead.
After halftime, the back-and-forth nailbiter game continued. The third quarter had four ties and six lead changes. The Panthers' balance showed as Tanner, Riggins, and Yates scored early in the quarter, but Scott was whistled for his third foul and went to the bench at the six-minute mark. Yates continued with a breakaway, a driving basket, and a pair of free throws to help the offense. The back and forth continued as Riggins scored on a Yates assist, Riggins assisted Devin Kitchen, and Kitchen scored on another drive to pull the Panthers within one point, 48-47, to end the quarter.
Yates started the fourth with two free throws to put the Panthers on top; Benton jumped back with a 3-pointer for a two-point lead. Scott brought the Panthers right back to a 51-all tie and took the lead with a free throw to finish the 3-point play.
Benton beat the Panther press for a 53-52 lead, which would be their last of the game. The fourth and last lead change occurred at the six-minute mark as Ben Restoff hit a straight-on 3-pointer from the top of the key. Scott made an end-to-end drive, then scored on a breakaway for the Panthers' biggest lead of the game 59-53, a lead that they would not relinquish to finish the game.
Benton would get as close as 59-57 and 63-60 as Riggins and Yates each hit a pair of free throws after Benton fouls. Yates closed out the Panther scoring at 7.3 seconds with a final free throw to secure the 64-60 win.
Panther Head Coach Bob Waggoner attributed the tournament win to an excellent team effort, with all players contributing.
"Dawson's (Yates) leadership continues to improve, our offense goes through him consistently," Waggoner praised. He also was happy with the dominant post play of Dré Scott throughout the tournament. Hunter Riggins, Devin Kitchen, Grant Tanner, and Ben Restoff all made significant contributions to the championship game and to the team's success in the B.I.T., he added.