BOYS BASKETBALL: Time (allegedly) runs out on Panthers at Carlyle

Pinckneyville's Clayton Houghland was fouled on a put-back shot attempt with at least a full second remaining in Saturday's third-place game with Carlyle at the Kaskaskian Classic, but after a lengthy discussion amongst the three officials working the contest, time was ruled to have expired, leaving the Panthers on the losing end of a 49-47 final score.

Although it was seemingly clear to anyone in attendance that the whistle beat the final horn, the Carlyle time keeper failed to stop the clock after the foul was called. Opinions vary but it is believed that between 1.0-2.0 seconds should have been put back onto the clock - or at the very least, Houghland should have been shooting two free throws with no time on the clock. The official explanation given at the scorer's table by the referees was that the whistle came simultaneously with the expiration of game time.

Panthers head coach Bob Waggoner - and nearly everyone else in the gym - disagreed.

"Very simply, we rebounded the ball off a miss," Waggoner said. "We got fouled on the shot. There was over half a second left. The officials came together and declared that the game was over because they said time was out."

"I don't know how you can mess that up with three officials. It was very plain to see that the game was not over, we should have been going to the free throw line with a little over half a second left. They wouldn't make the decision to do that. They didn't confer with the coaches, they didn't confer with anybody outside of themselves, and they called the game."

Houghland would still have had to sink the free throws to send the game to overtime, but he was already 6-for-7 at the line on the night as one of the team's best shooters from the charity stripe over the past two seasons.

The senior's 12 points capped off an all-tournament team performance for the week, during which Houghland scored 61 points in four games.

"He had a great tournament, he deserves to be all on the all-tournament team," Waggoner said. "I thought he played extremely well."

The Panthers got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-4 in the first quarter, going scoreless for the first 3:45 of the game.

The Indians led by 10 with 6 minutes to go in the half, but a pair of three-pointers from Grant Jausel helped keep the Panthers in it. Carlyle led 23-19 at the break.

"I believe in Grant, Grant's a great shooter," Waggoner said. "The thing I'm most impressed with is not only his shooting but his defense is getting better. He's starting to be able to guard, use his length - he's long-armed. He can be a very good player for us the next three years."

The Panthers tied it up midway through the third quarter, only to see the Indians rattle off a 7-0 run capped off by Maverick Taylor's three-pointer with 2:22 left in the period. But J.C. Moll answered with a three for Pinckneyville, and just 30 seconds into the final frame two Houghland free throws tied the game again at 36-36.

Sam Simpson completed a three-point play with 6:26 remaining to finally put the Panthers out in front, but again, Carlyle responded with a spurt of their own. Donte Nettles' fast-break layup with a little more than 3 minutes left put the Indians up 44-41.

The two teams traded baskets and free throws until Carlyle's Tyler Siever made one of two at the line with 21.9 seconds to go to give Carlyle a 49-47 lead. That set up the game's final possession, during which the Panthers got a pair of good looks before Houghland's stick-back was off the mark and the controversy ensued.

"We beat ourselves tonight," said Waggoner. "I don't think Carlyle beat us, we beat ourselves. We gave up too many run-outs on turnovers and too many offensive rebounds. We weren't aggressive enough, and we didn't take care of the ball enough. The last play is what everybody will remember, but I'll remember the other 16 points they scored on run-outs."

Jausel matched Houghland with 12 points for PCHS, Simpson had 11, Kyle Luke 4, Moll and Alex Howard 3 apiece, and Caulden Lazenby 2.

"I thought Grant Jausel had a great game tonight," said Waggoner. "Caulden Lazenby came in and gave us a huge lift. That's what we need, guys to come in and give us three or four minutes as hard as they can, give us a lift defensively and offensively, and then I think we're going to have a very good team."

With a pair of wins and a pair of losses, the Panthers finished the tournament in 4th place. Okawville defeated Woodlawn 52-44 for the championship.

"One thing about this tournament is it's not just good competition, it's good coaching," Waggoner said. "Every team we played has people prepared. Their coaches have been there a while, they do a great job, and the teams compete very hard."

Pinckneyville (2-2) will begin SIRR Mississippi Division play this coming Friday at home against Sparta, then host Cairo - the Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic winner - on Saturday.