PINCKNEYVILLE 2A SECTIONAL
Panthers host exceptional group
Pinckneyville, Nashville, Central, Marquette all have 20-plus wins

03-01-16
BY JACK BULLOCK
PINCKNEYVILLE - The Pinckneyville Panthers are probably on the best roll coming into this sectional, having topped rival Nashville at home on Feb 13 to grab a share of the SIRR Mississippi Division championship.

Coach Bob Waggoner's club have won nine-straight games and 15-of-their-last-16 games, with the only loss being a 47-44 overtime decision to Benton in the title game of the Benton Invitational Tournament on January 23.

The other losses are to 1A powers Woodlawn and Waterloo Gibault along with 2A teams Carlyle and Nashville, whom they split two games each with, and 3A Waterloo.

The Panthers are seeking the program's 19th sectional championship.

The big guys in the frontcourt have done the harm to the opponents this season.

Six-foot-three senior Clayton Houghland and 6-foot-5 Sam Simpson missed a lot of time last season but have more than made up for it in 2015-16.

Houghland is capable of scoring from all over the court as he has a 16.9 points per game average while grabbing 5.1 rebounds a contest. He can step out and make long range shots (42 3-pointers) or can take the ball inside.

Simpson addes 11.3 points a night to the picture, while guard Grant Jausel adds 7.6 points a game.

When needed, Jausel stepped up this season. He lit up Nashville for 29-points while making six 3-pointers in a 74-49 win.

J.C. Moll, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, adds 5.1 points a night to the successful mixture for the 25-6 Panthers.
It took the Nashville Hornets a while to get going this season after a football playoff run hampered the cagers from the beginning.

But it has paid off with a win over Greenville to win the Greenville Regional.

Coach Brad Weather's club has “weathered' some storms this season against a brutal slate and are in the sectional hunt at 20-10 on the year.

The Hornets have locked horns with some talented teams, including 3A teams Columbia, Benton and Breese Mater Dei and 1A powers Okawville, Metro-East Lutheran and Waterloo Gibault.

The 2A good ones they have faced include long time rival Breese Central along with conference mates Pinckneyville and Carterville.

Royce Newman, a 6-foot-7 senior, tops the billing of the Hornets this season with 15.5 points and seven rebounds a game for Nashville.

Newman, who excelled at football during his prep career has already committed to playing at Mississippi for next fall.

He would like nothing better than to help lead his team back to Peoria where as a sophomore his club fell to Bloomington Central Catholic in the 2A title game.

Senior Brad Bultman, a 6-foot-3 guard, averages 11.3 points and 2.4 assists as he runs the Hornets' offense.

Ryan Brink, a 6-foot-1 junior, and 5-foot-11 junior Hayden Heggemeier add 8.8 and 7.2 points per game.

Six-foot-six junior Brogan Kemp adds 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds to the totals.

Nashville has won 18-regionals and they would like to add their 10th sectional championship to the glassed in case at the school this week.
The Breese Central Cougars are no strangers to postseason runs, having another outstanding regular season that has turned into more state tournament hardware.

Coach Jeremy Shubert has his team playing well as they dispatched Carlyle in the regional final at Wesclin to take home the program's 15th regional championship.

The Cougars hope after two wins this week they will make a trip back to the supersectional, a place they have been eight previous times.

Central has an impressive body of work this season as they stand 27-4 heading into their Tuesday night game against Alton Marquette.

They won the Effingham St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament back in November with four-consecutive wins over 3A programs, culminating with a victory over Effingham to take home the prize.

Breese Central also took home the big trophy from the Nashville Invitational Tournament with wins over 3A Mascoutah, Mater Dei, the host Hornets and Teutopolis.

They also split games with Okawville, losing to the Rockets in the title game at the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament

The other three losses were regular season games at home to Teutopolis and road games two days apart in February to Columbia and Mater Dei.

They hold a 38-36 win over their sectional opponent Alton Marquette on February 19.

For the Cougars story it begins with 6-foot-2 senior guard Logan Kohrmann who is the foreman on team, leading the way with 17.9 points a night.

Chase Schneider, a 6-foot-4 post player, adds 8.5 points per contest while teammate Mitchell Rule, a 6-foot-3 guard, adds 5.5 points.

Six-foot-two junior forward Jack Strieker helps out with 8.6 points a game.

The Cougars are just three wins away from making their sixth trip to Peoria since 2003.

For the Alton Marquette Explorers, head coach Steve Medford is just glad he is back to 2A competition for the postseason after spending the last three years as a 3A team with little chance at advancement to the state finals.

The Explorers are also in new territory, going South for their sectional where they will face a team that they just gave a fit to at home on Friday night.

Marquette is 21-9 on the season have a variety of teams on their schedule from both Illinois and Missouri and should be ready for a battle this weeks starting on Tuesday.

Shandon Boone, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, leads the basketball expedition with 19.6 points a game.

Six-foot-six forward Ben Seabacher (8.6 p.p.g.) has delivered for the Explorers along with 5-foot-11 sophomore guard Reagan Snider (7.6 p.p.g.).

Three other players are helping out for Coach Medford, who is 135-48 currently at the school.
Six-foot junior Nick Messenger, 5-foot-10 junior Bryce Pettiford and 5-foot-11 senior guard Trey Aguirre all help out Boone, Snider and Seabacher.

Three of Alton Marquette's losses came at the Jerseyville Invitational Tournament in January to Quincy Notre Dame, Collinsville and Cahokia.

Other good teams they fell to are Waterloo Gibault and Pinckneyville at the Pinckneyville Showcase back on January 30.