BASKETBALL: Panthers take third at Capital Classic
After an opening day, early afternoon loss against one of the state's best basketball programs and the eventual tournament champion Teutopolis, Pinckneyville put together a three-game winning streak at the 2014 Capital Classic in Bridgeport, defeating Marshall 66-57 in the final session to earn third place.
Panthers Nolan Luke, who led PCHS with 52 total points in their four games, and Tristan Fisher, who scored 44 points at the event, earned all-tournament team honors. Pinckneyville's offense showed explosiveness and aggressiveness throughout the tournament, averaging over 57 points per game. At the same tournament last year, PCHS averaged under 45 points.
"I think our improvement from last year to now is pretty good," said Panthers head coach Bob Waggoner. "I think our kids are buying into the way we want to play. Our defense is creating our offense a little bit, we're rebounding really well right now, and I think we only have room to improve as guys continue to heal up and get more confidence."
The offense came out firing against Marshall in the third place game, scoring twenty first quarter points and leading by as many as seven in the period. Marshall stuck around and took a one point lead into the break, thanks to a monster effort in the post by 6'5 sophomore Spencer Shaffner, who had fifteen points by the half.
But the big man ran into foul trouble early in the second half and had to sit with three personals with 4:24 to go in the third quarter. That's when Pinckneyville made their run to regain the lead 45-39, outscoring the Lions 12-2 over the next three and a half minutes.
Once again Marshall struck back, though, as Chazz Lindsey hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game before PCHS's Brian Taylor drove for a lay-up to beat the third quarter buzzer.
Lindsey drove across the lane and hit a runner to tie the game at 47-47 just thirty seconds into the fourth period, but Marshall would melt down after that as Pinckneyville cranked up the defense and came through at the free throw line.
Fisher hit a triple with 6:14 to play to start a 10-0 Panther run, and Luke scored ten of his fourteen points in the last six minutes of the game as Pinckneyville put it away. The Panthers were 22-for-30 at the charity stripe, 14-for-18 in the final frame. Meanwhile, Shaffner fouled out with 3:23 to go and didn't score in the second half.
"Caleb Dahn did a heck of a job on (Shaffner)," Waggoner said. "They went to a little smaller lineup that caused us some matchup issues, sort of like Olney did to us, but we adjusted a little quicker and went a little smaller ourselves. Tyler Rulevish gave us great minutes off the bench."
"We closed it out tonight a little better. We've got to finish the end of quarters a little better, but I'm really proud of our players because I thought for four games here in two days as we've had a team play in a long time."
Clayton Houghland led the Panthers with seventeen points, sixteen of them coming in the first half. Luke (14), Taylor (11), Fisher (10) and Dahn (10) all joined Houghland in double figures, and Rulevish added four points.
On Friday, the Panthers offense started off slow against Teutopolis, as the Wooden Shoes held on for a 56-49 victory. PCHS led 10-8 after the first quarter, but T-Town outscored them 20-10 in the second to lead by eight at the break and never trailed the rest of the way.
6'5 Brett Mette led a balanced scoring attack for the Shoes with eleven points. Three others had at least eight.
For the Panthers, Luke and Dahn each had ten, Fisher and Houghland each had eight, Taylor six, Rulevish three and Gabe Yearian and Adam Banach two.
Teutopolis would later squeak by Mt. Carmel 76-74 in the championship game on Saturday night.
Pinckneyville rebounded nicely by hammering tournament co-host Red Hill 63-46 on Friday night as Luke (16), Fisher (16) and Houghland (12) all posted double-figure efforts.
Yearian added eight points, Taylor five, Dahn and Jackson Brand three apiece.
That set up a matchup with Olney to decide who would play for third place, as both the Panthers and Tigers had already lost to Teutopolis.
Pinckneyville was in command up ten heading into the fourth quarter, but the scrappy Olney bunch wouldn't go away quietly.
After a Panther turnover with 2:50 to go, the Tigers tied it up at 42-42 on a bucket by Ethan Eagleson. But Pinckneyille held Olney to just three points after that and made 11-of-14 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help them win 51-45.
Luke led PCHS with a dozen points, Fisher and Taylor each had 10, Houghland nine, Dahn six, Rulevish three and Banach one. Hunter Wyatt led Olney with fifteen points but did not score in the fourth period.
The Panthers (3-1) continue a stretch of seven games away from Thomas Gymnasium to open the season this Friday night at Gibault (Waterloo), and Saturday at West Frankfort.