BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers finish season sweep of Indians

Pinckneyville started both halves of Friday's conference battle with Du Quoin with impressive runs of 20-5 and 18-6, giving the Panthers more than enough to leave Anders Gymnasium with a 58-36 victory over the Indians in a physical - and emotional - game that featured 65 free throws on 51 personal fouls.

"The first and third quarters killed us," said DHS head coach Wendell Wheeler. "Fundamentally we need to move our feet better and stuff like that. It was a very physical game, but for our young guys it was a good experience."

Despite a new-look starting lineup that included sophomore Jarred Thomas and freshman Hank Stewart, Du Quoin's offense was sluggish out of the gate against Pinckneyville's always-tough defense.

Du Quoin didn't get their first field goal until Brock Bullar's layup with 2:46 to play in the first quarter, and by then the Panthers had already built an 11-1 lead following Nolan Luke's three with 3:00 to go in the period.

The PCHS lead got as big as fifteen in the first half, but Du Quoin got back in it after A.J. Smith's three-point play with 5:13 left in the second quarter cut the lead to ten. Stewart chipped away even more with his three-pointer before the half, and the Indians were down 26-18 after sixteen minutes of action.

"I thought we got a little bit flustered in the second quarter," said Panthers' head coach Bob Waggoner, "but other than that we played pretty good Panther basketball."

A free throw from Thomas cut Pinckneyville's edge to just six at 27-21 a couple minutes into the second half, but Thomas would pick up his fourth foul less than a minute later and be forced to sit. The Panthers responded with their decisive push on offense.

"Early we're not physical enough, then we got in some foul trouble," Wheeler said. "We're still trying to learn, that was a tough one for us. I'm proud of them, they played hard. Defensively we forced some turnovers, we made a lot of hustle plays."

Brian Taylor scored six straight points - four at the line, two on a layup - as part of a 17-3 run for the Panthers to finish out the third quarter, burying the Indians in a hole too deep to climb out of.

"I thought we played a good first quarter, things were coming really easy to us," Waggoner said. "I thought we played the tempo and the kind of pace that we wanted to. The second quarter I thought we played a little bit selfishly on the offensive and defensive end, took quick shots, had defensive breakdowns, and gave them some opportunities to get back into the ball game. We adjusted, and then in the third quarter kind of pushed the lead and cruised from there on out."

Luke (15 points), Taylor (13) and Tyler Rulevish (10) each finished in double figures for the Panthers. Tristan Fisher (8), Sam Simpson (7) and Adam Banach (5) also scored for PCHS. It was Simpson's first action of the season after sitting out the first 25 games with an off-season ACL injury.

Nolan Showalter led the Indians with 9 points, Thomas had 7, Smith and Stewart each had 6, Caleb Vogel 4, Bullar 3 and Tucker Kuhnert 1.

PCHS (21-5, 6-1) will host Anna-Jonesboro this Friday before a big showdown with the Hornets at Nashville on Saturday. The Hornets remain unbeaten in SIRR Mississippi Division play, a game of the Panthers, two up on Carterville.

The Hornets and Lions face off this Friday night in Carterville. A Nashville win all but eliminates Carterville from the race with three losses, while a Carterville win creates a tie heading into the Panthers-Hornets battle on Saturday, if the Panthers defeat A-J on Friday.

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Pinckneyville 75, Du Quoin 46 (JV)</span>

The Panthers also took the win in the junior varsity game, 75-46, using a dominant 39-15 first half to put it away early.

Justin Bauersachs led PCHS with 19 points, one more than teammate Nick Cannon's 18. Alex Howard (11 points), Caulden Lazenby (9), Jackson Brand (6), Cale Jausel (4), Brian Kling (3), Brady Louis (2), Hayden Carter (2) and Miles Chandler (1) also scored for the JV Panthers.

Du Quoin was led by Nicholas King's 18 points. Braden Heape (12), Klayton Donoghue (8), Cole Hopkins (4), Donovan McBride (2) and Ryne O'Rourke (2) scored for DHS as well.