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Boys Prep Basketball: Panthers win game, lose Morton

Posted January 10, 2010 10:00 pm

Doug Daniels

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Pinckneyville may have been playing with six regulars sitting out the game on Saturday, but don't tell that to anyone from Freeburg.

Despite a younger, more inexperienced lineup, the Panthers pounded the Midgets 67-26 at Thomas Gymnasium before one of the smaller crowds of the season.

"I thought we came out aggressive, and I thought we shared the ball the best we have all year, our passing was fantastic tonight," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner after the victory. "Our spacing is a lot better, we have more opportunities to score."

Not everything came up roses for the Panthers on Saturday, however, as late in the game Nathan Morton injured his wrist falling to the ground after a slam dunk.

Morton will miss anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks according to a team assistant, just as two other players are set to rejoin the team Tuesday night at Sparta.

On Saturday, the Panthers got right to it with a 7-0 run to open the game, forcing a Freeburg timeout with just a minute and fifteen seconds gone by.

Morton opened the game with a three-pointer, then Shay Kellerman had a steal followed by a fast break layup, then grabbed a defensive rebound and took it the length of the floor for a pullup jumper.

Kellerman's three with 4:18 left in the period made it 14-6, and Pinckneyville held a 21-10 advantage after one.

"We had a good inside-out attack, we got the ball inside and worked off of those guys and made sure we had good, open looks," Waggoner said.

Another 7-0 Panther run would start the second quarter, and Hunter Queen's three-pointer with 6:09 left in the half had the lead at 28-10, with a rout becoming ever more likely.

The Midgets shot just 29% for the game against a pesky Pinckneyville defense that forced 17 Freeburg turnovers.

"We thought they could be pressured and trapped," said Waggoner. "But it takes players to do that, and our guys really made an effort to try and do the things we asked."

With the game well in hand in the second half, Morton and Kyle Lamb both showed off their dunking ability to bring the crowd to life.

Kellerman's 18 points led the way for the Panthers, Morton added 15, Lamb 11, Jake Bathon 7, Queen 6, C.J. Opp and Dylan Hardin each with 3 points, and Payton Nippe and Justin Bumann both finished with 2 points.

Pinckneyville (11-3) is at Sparta Tuesday in a game rescheduled from this past Friday, then off this coming weekend before Benton Invitational Tournament action begins January 18.

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