BOYS BASKETBALL: Panthers roll past Red Bud into championship
It took them about six minutes to get going, but once the Panthers started clicking, Red Bud had no chance. Top-seeded Pinckneyville cruised to a 60-34 victory over the Musketeers in Tuesday night's Class 2A Regional semifinal, earning their spot in Friday's championship against either Waterloo (Gibault) or tournament host Chester.
Red Bud had an early 9-7 lead, but a 12-0 PCHS run at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second put the Panthers out in front to stay.
"I think we had to find our legs a little bit," said Pinckneyville head coach Bob Waggoner, "but the other thing was trying to play with some new guys in the lineup, trying to see where we were at. Energy was good, effort was good, I think our execution was pretty good. We can always play a little bit better defensively, but at the same time I thought we did a very good job of executing our game plan against Red Bud."
The "new guys" in the Panthers' lineup were a couple of players coming off of injuries - big men Sam Simpson and Clayton Houghland. Simpson had seen only limited minutes since returning on February 6 from an off-season ACL injury, and Houghland hadn't played since January 9, when he suffered a knee injury against Nashville.
Simpson in particular made his presence felt, putting in eleven points against Red Bud. Both players, along with fellow post man Adam Banach, were strong in the rebounding department.
"Adam Banach has been a warrior all year for us," Waggoner said. "He's had to play out of position a lot of times because he's had to guard a five instead of a four, but now with Sam (Simpson) being back, I think that he can be a little more aggressive on the glass. Houghland coming back gave us a big lift on the glass because it's more size."
The 12-0 run for Pinckneyville gave them a 19-9 lead with 5:40 to go in the first half. Red Bud closed to within eight with 2:39 to go in the second period, but Nolan Luke - who led PCHS with 20 points on the night - scored the last four points of the half to give the Panthers a 30-17 edge at the break.
"Nolan really played well," said Waggoner. "I thought he played within himself. Brian Taylor set the table for him and Nolan ate from it, so it was pretty good. It was a good two-man game."
The lead got as high as 17 points in the third before a three by Red Bud's Cullen Hanger cut it to 38-26 Pinckneyville, but the Panthers would finish the game with a 22-8 spurt, getting their starters some rest towards the end of the fourth quarter.
"Jackson Brand gave us some great minutes in there, him and Alex Howard, so our depth is where it needs to be," Waggoner said. "Now we just have to make sure our rotation is where it needs to be."
Tristan Fisher added a dozen points to give PCHS three players in double figures. Banach had six points, Howard five, and Houghland, Brand and Taylor had two apiece. Cale Jausel, J.C. Moll, Caulden Lazenby, Justin Bauersachs and Hayden Carter also got some floor time for the Panthers.
Pinckneyville (23-6) will meet the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Chester and Gibault on Friday at 7:00 p.m. for the right to advance to next week's Wood River (East Alton) Sectional.