BOYS BASKETBALL: Luke's 27 points lead Panthers past Roxana at Sectional
Pinckneyville got 27 points from senior Nolan Luke and secured their spot in the Class 2A Sectional championship at East Alton-Wood River High School by putting away Roxana 61-44 on Wednesday. The Panthers (25-6) will meet Mater Dei (21-10) in Friday's finals at 7:00 p.m.
"(Luke played) fantastic offensively," said PCHS head coach Bob Waggoner. "He really led us. He played really offensive-minded. Really, they didn't have an answer for him, they tried a lot of different things. He's a senior, he's been through the wars. Tonight I think he really showed his leadership."
The Panthers refused to let the Shells - or Mother Nature - get in the way of their trip to the sweet sixteen. Ice and snowfall forced the cancellation of school throughout Perry County and surrounding areas, but there wasn't enough potential danger in the East Alton-Wood River area to force the postponement of Wednesday's game. Despite the conditions, Pinckneyville fans showed up in full force, driving over 80 miles and nearly matching the crowd in attendance for Roxana - just six miles from EAWR high school.
"Great fan support on our end coming up through the snow and ice," Waggoner said. "I guarantee Friday night this place will be rocking."
"Everybody wants to be in this situation. Mater Dei has had a great year and are hitting things at the right time. You just want that challenge to be able to come in here and be ready to play."
The Shells showed up ready to play, hitting three triples in the opening quarter while taking charge with a 17-11 lead through eight minutes.
But things would change in a hurry, as the Panthers clamped down defensively and held Roxana to just four points in the second quarter. Luke hit a three-pointer just seconds before the half - a lot like he did in the Regional championship last Friday - which gave Pinckneyville a 26-21 halftime advantage.
"The first quarter they came out and played really well, maybe their best quarter of the year, and really put us on our heels," Waggoner said. "In the second quarter we adjusted a little bit defensively. We got the lead back, got a big play right before the half hitting a three. That gave us momentum."
The three-point shot kept the Shells within striking distance again early in the third quarter. Zachary Golenor and Trace Gentry both connected from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the second half with Gentry's cutting Pinckneyville lead to one at 33-32 with 3:46 to go in the period.
That's when the Panthers decided enough was enough. Four different players scored during a quick 13-1 run for Pinckneyville that included four points from Brian Taylor, a steal and fast-break bucket by Luke, a three from Tristan Fisher, and back-to-back post baskets by Clayton Houghland.
"In the third quarter we really continued to push things," Waggoner said, "and I felt like we settled in defensively to where they weren't going to get any easy looks like they did in the first four minutes of the game."
Roxana didn't get the lead beneath eleven points in the final frame as the Shells managed only five points in the last quarter of action.
Taylor was the only other PCHS player in double digits with ten points. Houghland added eight points, Sam Simpson six, Fisher five, Tyler Rulevish three and Banach two.
Roxana (16-16) was led by Golenor's twelve points. Gentry finished with eleven.