Du Quoin boys basketball: After 4-0 start, Indians drop two to Pinckneyville and Murphy
After starting the season with four straight wins averaging 85 points a game the Indians had three games scheduled over the weekend. They ended up having the first one postponed before losing their next two, including one to Pinckneyville in the Battle of Beaucoup rivalry game Tuesday night.
This week the Indians, who fell to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the SIRR Mississippi Division following the Pinckneyville game, hosts Harrisburg in a non-conference game Saturday (action starts at 2 p.m. with the JV game) before traveling to Anna-Jonesboro Tuesday night to try to even their conference record.
Friday night the immovable object Carterville Lions were ready to host the irresistible force Du Quoin Indians, but with the storm of the century coming in the game was postponed.
Saturday afternoon those Indians hosted the equally irresistible Murphysboro Red Devils. The Indians were run past, run over and run through, giving up a season-high 79 points.
"I think we were kind of intimidated by their speed, so we didn't press them as hard at the beginning and kind of let them pass the ball however they wanted to do it," said Du Quoin Head Coach Jason James said.
Du Quoin trailed 18-10 after the first quarter, 40-17 at the half, and 59-38 after three quarters before settling for a 15-point loss, 79-64.
"They put it to us in that first half getting down by 28 at one time," James said. "We cut it to eight with 3:40 to go and we had the ball, but we kind of ran out of gas. I'm glad our kids battled back. They didn't give up and lose by 50."
Caden Hutchens scored a season-high 21 points, including a season-high five from beyond the arc. Traijon Smith scored 12 points. Maurice Washington, who came in averaging 16.3 points a game during the Tip-Off Classic, was held to 11 points. Jaden Smith and Nick Brown, who came into the game averaging 8.5 points a game, were held to just three points each.
Calvon Clemons blistered the nets for the Red Devils scoring 28 points, including 10 of 13 from the free-throw line. Karmelo Abernathy added 19.
Indians vs. Panthers
Tuesday night the Battle of Beaucoup was going the Indians way for the first 2½ quarters. Du Quoin led almost the entire first half, except for 20 seconds with 2:13 left in the half when the Panthers led, 21-20. Still, the Indians scored the last seven points to take a 27-21 lead at the half.
Du Quoin came out of the intermission with the momentum doubling its lead to 12 points 4:09 into the third quarter. However, it all came to a halt 29 seconds later when Washington was called for a technical foul.
"A momentum swinger," James said. "They get the two technicals and the ball back. We foul them on a three and they get all three. We miss a three down here and they get one. The whole atmosphere just changed and we couldn't get it back on track to where we were. That's something we have to talk about - just play the game and don't play with your mouth.
"However, that's not what lost the ballgame. We missed free throws (hitting 7 of 18). That's just something we've got to finish. They made their free throws (25 of 32) and Pinckneyville is known for that. They are going to win it at the line at the end of the game.
"This is a game we got to learn from. You hate to let it slip away like that against a rival. They made some good adjustments to our press and deserved to get that 'W' in the end."
The bubble that is momentum burst for the Indians as the Panthers' Duke Riggins made the two technical free throws. Eleven seconds later Nile Adcock was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three, so in a span of 11 seconds the Panthers cut the lead to seven.
"The technical helped us tremendously," said Pinckneyville coach Bob Waggoner. "First we made the free throws and then we got the ball. That's a big swing in a game this tight where every play counts. Plus it was a foul on him that helped get him out of the game."
Traijon Smith got two of the points back for the Indians on a pair of free throws, but Adcock erased those with an old-fashioned three-point play on a layup and a free throw.
After Smith scored again Riggins scored the next five points and Adcock canned a three-pointer to tie the score, 44-44, with 52 seconds left in the quarter.
Du Quoin got back-to-back baskets by Brown and PJ Winters to regain the lead with 23 seconds remaining, but Adcock nailed a three-pointer with six seconds left.
The Panthers rode that momentum after the break - scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter. Washington single-handedly cut the lead back to one on back-to-back baskets, but when Gage Green was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one the Panthers went on a 6-0 run.
With 3:52 remaining the Indians made their final run scoring back-to-back baskets on steals by Winters and Hutchens to cut the lead back to three with 2:53 left.
But that was all the Indians had left as the Panthers finished the game scoring 10 of the last 15 points to win, 71-63.
Washington led the Indians with 22 points before he fouled out with 2:45 remaining in the game. Traijon Smith added 15 points. Hutchens, who began the game with 19 three-pointers and averaging 15.6 points a game was held to seven points and just one from beyond the arc.
Adcock led all scorers with 24 points with Riggins finishing with 19 and Kellen Scott 13 off the bench.