BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers survive test from Waterloo
Neither team led by more than four points all night long and a late 10-2 run by the Panthers made the difference in Tuesday night's boys varsity basketball contest as Pinckneyville survived a test from Waterloo at home, winning 36-32.
The Bulldogs missed the front end of two one-and-one free throw opportunities in the final minute and thirty-three seconds of the game, Tristan Fisher had a big three-point bucket with 1:18 to go - and an even bigger blocked shot in the closing seconds, and Nolan Luke went five-for-six at the free throw line in the final 35.7 seconds to give PCHS the victory in what could either be called a defensive battle or an offensive struggle by the two squads.
"I would call it both," said Panthers head coach Bob Waggoner. "I thought both teams guarded really hard and followed their game plan defensively, and offensively both teams struggled. It seemed like post-Christmas basketball - a little bit of time not playing, not in a rhythm."
"I thought Waterloo's physicality bothered us a little bit. I thought that we didn't look to score enough offensively. We had opportunities, but we didn't execute well at all. It's a win, and we'll take it. Both teams battled and could have won, we were fortunate to come out on top."
Neither team could get much going offensively in the first half as Pinckneyville entered the break clinging to a 14-12 lead.
The second half featured a little more scoring, and even more back-and-forth drama. The game was tied on three separate occasions in the third quarter before the lead swapped hands four times in the fourth.
Waterloo held their biggest lead of the night at 30-26 with 3:18 to play after Lance Mueller hit one-of-two at the free throw line.
That's when the Panthers woke up. Clayton Houghland put in a lay-up in transition, then Fisher nailed a three-pointer with 1:18 remaining after Waterloo's Max Scharder missed the front end of a one-and-one chance at the other end.
Rick Wiegand did the same moments later for the Bulldogs, who were forced to foul Luke with 35.7 seconds remaining and PCHS up 31-30.
Luke made both foul shots, then swatted a Bulldogs shot at the other end before heading to the line again with 25.3 seconds left. He would made one of two to give Pinckneyville a four-point lead.
Waterloo's Ryan Aycock was fouled on a drive at the other end and cut the lead to two with free throws before PCHS's Brian Taylor missed a one-and-one chance for the Panthers, setting up a do-or-die possession for the Bulldogs with 8.6 seconds remaining.
Aycock drove to the basket in an attempt to tie it up, but Fisher blocked his shot and Luke made two free throws with a second to go that made it a two-possession game.
"(Aycock) made a nice play left," said Waggoner. "We talked about in the timeout that he was going to drive it left, or (Wiegand) was going to drive it right and try to get to the hole and draw a foul. Fisher made an athletic play on the ball and blocked it, and then we were fortunate that we finally got a 50/50 loose ball in our hands."
"We missed a lot of opportunities to get loose balls tonight. We were slow, we were reacting instead of anticipating. We looked very tentative. We played like a team that's practiced for ten days and hasn't played enough."
It was the Panthers' first game since beating Jerseyville at the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic back on December 27.
Luke led PCHS with 13 points, Fisher added 12, Houghland 6 and Tyler Rulevish 5. Aycock had 12 to pace Waterloo.
Pinckneyville also won the junior varsity game, 55-47. Alex Howard's 15 points led the Panthers. Caulden Lazenby (12 points) and J.C. Moll (11) were also in double figures for PCHS.
The Panthers (12-3, 3-0) will host the top-ranked team in Class 2A on Friday night at Thomas Gymnasium when the Nashville Hornets come visiting for a crucial conference matchup.
"We'll have to play a lot better than that Friday night (against Nashville) or it won't be a ball game," said Waggoner. "We'll have to execute a lot better."