Nashville @ Pinckneyville - SIRR Mississippi Division

SIRR Mississippi Division

Nashville

Pinckneyville

Nashville (70) - T. Schoenherr 5 1 3-7 16, Pinski 0 2 0-2 6, Briles 1 0 0-0 2, Luessnheise 2 0 0-0 4, Reeder 0 2 0-0 6, Brooks 0 0 0-0 0, Ritzel 4 0 9-10 17, Reinburg 0 0 4-4 4, P. Schoenberg 5 0 5-8 15.
2FG-17, 3FG-5, FT-21-32, PF-19.

Pinckneyville (62) – Conway 2 0 1-2 5, Cleland 0 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Laur 4 0 4-6 12, Lietz 0 1 0-0 3, Bauersachs 4 1 3-3 14, McConnell 1 0 1-2 3, Keith 7 2 5-8 25.
2FG-18, 3FG-4, FT-14-21, PF-27.

Fouled Out – Conway, Laur - Pinckneyville.
Technical Fouls – None.

Nashville upsets Panthers
Hornets take home key division road win; Pinckneyville suffers first league loss

02/04/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
PINCKNEYVILLE – Tuesday night the numbers just didn't add up for the host Pinckneyville Panthers.

Coach Matt Laur's club started out slow offensively and things didn't get that much better in the second half of their 70-62 loss to rival Nashville.

The Panthers struggled out of the gate offensively as Nashville defended well in sending Pinckneyville to its first SIRR Mississippi Division defeat.

Coach Stote Reeder's club has played a brutal schedule and the Hornets are beginning to reap the benefits of the slate.

Nashville used an 11-2 run to close the first quarter and never let the Panthers back into the lead as they improved to 16-8 overall and 5-1 in the division standings.

Pinckneyville dropped to 22-3 on the season and they, too, are 5-1 in the conference.

This creates a three-way tie with Benton also 5-1, which will make things much more interesting in the next few weeks as all three have games against each other the remainder of the regular season.

Pinckneyville hit just 4-of-18 shots in the first quarter as they trailed for all of the final 28 minutes of the game.

Six-three junior Maddox Ritzel led the Hornets with 17-points, senior Ty Schoenherr added 16-points and senior Parker Schoenberg finished with 15.

The balanced scoring, the defensive effort and 10 made free throws in the fourth quarter added up to an upset victory.

Pinckneyville was paced by senior AJ Keith with 25-points, senior Riley Bauersachs added 16 while junior Ty Laur finished with 12.

Nashville got points from seven different players in the first quarter with Schoenberg
scoring on consecutive trips inside the lane on two offensive rebounds.

A 3-pointer from Max Reeder closed the run and the first quarter at 18-10 Hornets.

“Max (Reeder) came off the bench and made some huge shots for us tonight and Parker Schoenberg might have been the best player on the floor. He came up huge for us,” said Coach Reeder. “It was just a total team effort and I couldn't be more proud of them.”

The Panthers got close a couple of times in the second quarter on the strength of a pair of 3-pointers from Keith and senior guard Lucas Lietz.

The Keith bomb made it 20-18 with 5:59 left in the half.

But Nashville responded with eight-straight points with another 3-pointer from Reeder and a drive for a score from Schoenherr along with two free throws from Ritzel to send the Hornets to the break up 30-22.

(CONTINUED)

Pinckneyville was just 9-of-33 from the field in the first two quarters to trail by eight at the half.

The Panthers were better in the second half offensively and they started out with a conventional three-point play from Bauersachs and another basket by Keith as they were down just 32-28.

The Hornets, however, responded with 3-pointers by Schoenherr and senior guard Ethan Pinski and a inside score from senior reserve Brance Luessenheide.

Nashville hit 6-of-8 free throws in the third quarter as they went to the fourth with a 48-38 advantage.

Pinckneyville managed to make a run late to get within two possessions.

Keith scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter.

Two consecutive scores by Keith, one a 3-pointer and the other on a long two-point shot, made it 62-57 with just 1:30 left.

The Panthers would get no closer.

Nashville put the outcome to rest with 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:16 to close out the road victory for Coach Reeder.

The Hornets ended up 22-of-49 overall, 5-of-13 from long distance and held a slight 33-30 rebounding edge.

Nashville committed just nine-turnovers, three in the second half to pick up he win.

The Panthers shot the ball better in the second half but it wasn't enough.

Coach Laur's crew finished up 22-of-57, 4-of-14 from the 3-point arc, in the loss.

The loss is also important in what should be a very interesting seeding process for the upcoming postseason next week.

Nashville will play West Frankfort Friday night on the road and then will play 1A Goreville Saturday at the Rich Herrin Shootout in Benton.

Pinckneyville will travel to county rival DuQuoin on Friday before hosting Freeburg on Saturday.

“I can't tell you how proud I am of these kids. They have fought through a lot of tough games and they keep getting better,” said Coach Reeder. “We have eight losses and all of them are to good teams. We don't have a bad loss on our schedule. We play one of the toughest schedules in the state and it makes us better every night.”