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BASKETBALL: Panthers finish 10-0 in Mississippi

Posted February 20, 2012 10:00 pm

Doug Daniels

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville wrapped up a perfect 10-0 season in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division on Friday night, pulling away from Sparta for a 66-44 win behind four players in double-digit scoring.

Hunter Queen had a trio of three-pointers and was 6-for-6 at the foul stripe in his game-high 23-point effort on Senior Night at PCHS.

"(Going 10-0 in conference play) is an accumulation of things," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner. "You have to have good players, your coaching staff has to work extremely hard, and you have to have kids who are willing to give great effort not just one night, but ten nights. A lot of that's on the road, and in our league with good players and good coaches, it's a major accomplishment to go undefeated."

The Panthers doubled up the Bulldogs 20-10 in the opening quarter and appeared well on their way to a comfortable victory before Sparta rallied back in the second half. Pinckneyville responded though, flipping the switch and extending their lead to the point where most of both benches saw some fourth quarter action.

"We played in spurts, things went well in certain moments," Waggoner said. "I thought our energy level was good early, we just lost a little bit of that, but at the same time when it got a little closer we just turned it back up and went ahead and got the win."

"It's hard to keep motivated these final two or three weeks, but I think our kids see what's coming up, and they know what's on the line next week. There won't be a need for any motivational speeches before the game, we'll be ready to go."

Queen was joined in double figures by Chris Priebe (12 points), Dylan Hardin (10) and Justin Bumann (10). Payton Nippe added 5 points, Devan Downard 4 and Luke Miller 2.

Seniors Queen, Bumann, Nippe, Bryant Shute, C.J. Opp and Keegan Kellerman were honored before the game as part of Senior Night.

"When you look at this group overall and how they've matured over the last four years, and their development as young men, not just basketball players, and their ability to buy in and become part of a team, it's been a nice transformation," said Waggoner. "The biggest thing with this group of seniors is their work ethic, their determination."

Riding a twelve-game winning streak, the Panthers (23-4, 10-0) will find out their next opponent on Monday when the same Sparta Bulldogs take on Red Bud in the 6:00 p.m. quarterfinal of the Class 2A Pinckneyville Regional at Thomas Gymnasium.

The winner takes on PCHS in Wednesday's semifinal at 6:00 p.m. with the Regional championship scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"There's always work to do," Waggoner said. "You can't do a lot, you just tweak it here or there, and you get ready to play."

The Panthers also won the J-V game with Sparta to wrap up their season at 15-3.

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