BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers conquer Carterville, 55-44
Pinckneyville visited Carterville on Friday night for a pivotal SIRR Mississippi Division matchup, and the Panthers used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Lions in their 55-44 win to take sole possession of second place in the conference a game behind Nashville.
Playing without starting forward Clayton Houghland, who broke his knee cap in a game the previous weekend and will miss at least four weeks of action, Pinckneyville used their quickness and defense to hold Carterville to just 14-of-45 on field goal attempts for 31%.
"The reason we won the ball game wasn't our offense at all, it was our defense," said Panthers head coach Bob Waggoner. "We did a great job holding Carterville in check and following the game plan."
"I think Carterville is the most skilled team in our conference, they shoot it, pass it, and dribble it better than anybody. They always have four players on the floor that can shoot it at any time. I thought our guys did a good job in our game plan of switching constantly, keeping a hand on them and making them have to work for everything."
Carterville led 8-2 in the early-going, but later in the first period, freshman J.C. Moll checked in for the Panthers and hit a big three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead down to one. Brian Taylor followed with a rebound of a Lions miss, then went coast-to-coast for a layup and a traditional three-point play to give PCHS a 12-10 lead heading to the second quarter.
"I think we fought through our foul trouble well in the first half," Waggoner said, "we were able to maintain it with some key bench play. I thought J.C. Moll came in and gave us a huge lift."
An 8-0 run to start the second put Carterville back out in front, and the Lions were clinging to a 27-24 lead at the break before Tristan Fisher's three tied it up on the Panthers' first possession of the second half. He would add another triple later in the period, and Taylor put in a pull-up jumper at the horn to give PCHS a three-point lead after 24 minutes.
It was a two-point game with Pinckneyville up 42-40 when the Panthers made their decisive run. Nolan Luke hit a jumper to start the spurt, but it was a three-point play from Tyler Rulevish with 2:46 to play that seemed to end the Lions' hopes of a comeback.
On Carterville's next possession, Matt Galik was called for a charge driving on Pinckneyville's Adam Banach, and Rulevish scored on the inside at the other end to keep the Panthers rolling up 49-40.
"Adam Banach sacrificed his body, stepped in and took the charge," Waggoner said, "he didn't help uphill - like we told him, stay in there and slide, wait on them to come to you. Rulevish played aggressive, good old fashioned three-point play against their trap. Overall I thought we handled their trap better in the second half, and got some easier looks out of it."
Rulevish and Fisher combined to go 6-for-8 at the free throw line in the last two minutes to keep PCHS ahead.
"(The victory is) huge for us because we just came off of Houghland getting injured," said Waggoner, "we haven't really had time to adjust. We're trying to piece things together. On Wednesday we didn't know who was going to be playing, we're trying to add guys in, and it was kind of a rush to get here. It says a lot about our seniors and our leadership, and their ability to focus on the task at hand."
Luke and Fisher shared the team lead in scoring with 13 points apiece. Taylor had 11 points, Rulevish added 9, Banach 5 and Moll 4.
While Houghland will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Panthers may get Sam Simpson back a little sooner than that. The 6'4 junior will go back to the doctor on January 28 in hopes of being released.
Pinckneyville (14-4, 4-1) will be without both post players when they begin the Benton Invitational Tournament on Monday. The Panthers meet Sesser-Valier at 7:30 p.m. Monday night, Meridian at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Hamilton County at 9:00 p.m. on Friday, then play on Saturday against Carlyle at 2:00 p.m. and Benton at 9:00 p.m. to close out the tournament.