BOYS BASKETBALL: Simpson saves a win for Pinckneyville at Carlyle Tourney
Pinckneyville's Sam Simpson blocked a shot out of bounds with 1.6 seconds to play and the Panthers knocked away the ensuing inbounds pass to hang on for a 48-47 victory over Greenville on Saturday night in their first game of the season at the 2015 Kaskaskian Classic tournament at Carlyle High School.
Simpson's block was the exclamation point on his 18-point night. The senior saw action in only a handful of games during his junior year due to an ACL injury, but looked as strong as ever against the Comets.
"We've been waiting for Sam to play, it's exciting to finally have him healthy and ready to go," said PCHS head coach Bob Waggoner. "He had to have double digit rebounds. He got hung on a lot of his shots inside and could have went to the line a lot more. He's just a big force for us at the post."
Neither team had a lead of more than six points the entire game. The Panthers were up 6-2 early when Greenville rattled off a 9-0 run to lead 11-6 with all of their points coming from sharpshooter David Holden. Holden torched Pinckneyville offensively all night, finishing with 30 points.
"Thank goodness he didn't have 32," Waggoner said. "I think he could have gotten it any time he wanted it. That was one of the better offensive performances we've had somebody do against us in a long time. We threw everything at him but the kitchen sink. We triangle-and-two'd, we box-and-one'd, we face-guarded, we helped to him. We did everything we could and he could still score the ball."
The Panthers closed out the period on a 6-0 run, though, getting a lay-up from Hayden Carter on a nice feed inside by Clayton Houghland to spark the spurt. Carter added another bucket after a pull-up jumper by Alex Howard to give PCHS a one-point edge after a quarter.
A pair of three-pointers from the Comets' Ryan Hutchinson helped get Greenville's lead back to five at 22-17, but Simpson answered with a three-point play and another basket with 2:20 to go in the half to tie it up. The game remained tied at the break at 24-24.
Two turnovers began the second half for Greenville, and stick-backs by Houghland and Howard got the Panthers in front. PCHS held a huge rebounding advantage on the night, despite being at a size disadvantage.
"I thought for being out-sized by a bigger, longer team, we were really aggressive on the offensive glass," Waggoner said. "We really got after it. I thought we controlled the defensive glass too, they didn't have a lot of put-backs. They got a few after they fought for them, but at the same time when you're playing a team that's got you out-sized at every position, I really thought our effort was great on the boards."
Hutchinson's third triple of the night provided an answer for the Comets. The back-and-forth matchup stayed tight at 32-31 Pinckneyville with eight minutes to go.
Clinging to a one-point lead midway through the final period, the Panthers were able to build the biggest lead of the night with a rebound and coast-to-coast hoop by Houghland followed by a corner three-ball from Simpson that made it 43-37 with just under three minutes to play. But from there, free throw shooting became a major factor as Greenville sank 5-of-6 over the course of the next minute of action to creep within one. The Panthers then missed 6 of their last 7 at the charity stripe, preventing them from putting the game away. PCHS was just 6-for-15 at the line for the game.
"That could be nerves, it could guys just not used to getting their breath and getting ready to shoot," said Waggoner. "It'll improve."
Houghland came up empty on a two-shot chance at the line with 11.6 seconds left, giving Greenville one last opportunity to win the game. Simpson rejected Holden out of bounds and Jackson Brand came away with the ball after the Comets inbounded with 1.6 seconds remaining to end it.
"We forced a lot of turnovers, and I don't think we turned it over very much," Waggoner said. "I don't know how many we had, but I thought we did a great job of taking care of the ball."
Houghland joined Simpson in double figures with 15 points for Pinckneyville. Carter added 8 points, Howard 4, Brand 2 and Cale Jausel had 1.
The Panthers are back in action at the Kaskaskian Classic on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Hillsboro, and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Woodlawn.