12-15-07
BY JACK BULLOCK

Tommy Pelczynski scored 20 points including a 12-for-12 effort from the foul line in the Hornets’ 53-38 triumph.

Spreading the floor and being patient on offense – the visiting Rangers had an opportunity to pull a mild upset on the road but didn’t make enough shots to keep the Hornets from winning their sixth game of the season.

The Rangers handled the ball well and committed just three turnovers – all on offensive fouls.

However head coach Matt Wynn’s club was just 14-of-51 overall and 3-of-13 from behind the 3-point line.

Those numbers simply won’t get the job done on the road against a Nashville team that is tough to beat on its home court anyway.

“Nashville is just a good basketball team and we had our opportunities tonight. I thought our kids competed at a high level. We played hard and the tempo was in our favor but we didn’t have enough to get it done,” said Benton head coach Matt Wynn. “I am proud of our kids’ effort and this is a step in the right direction for us.”

On the other side of the coin – Nashville was much better offensively.

The Hornets hit on 16-of-33 attempts as a whole in dropping the Rangers to 3-5 on the season in this battle of SIRR teams from the Mississippi and Ohio Divisions.

With Pelczynski leading the way – Nashville was a blistering 19-of-20 from the charity stripe.

“I don’t want to say he is automatic, nobody is automatic, not even Rick Barry was automatic, but Tommy (Pelczynski) is a great free throw shooter,” said Nashville mentor Darin Lee. “That is the first time that he didn’t have double-figures in the first half. We didn’t get him freed up and a lot of that is their (Benton) credit. They were patient on offense and that kept the ball out of his hands.”

That accuracy from the line by Pelczynski helped separate the Hornets from Benton in the final quarter.

With a 33-27 lead heading into the final frame – Pelczynski hit a 15-footer in the first minute to stretch the lead to eight for Nashville.

On the next trip down the floor – Benton’s Gavin Nolen was called for a foul on a moving screen on Pelczynski.

Coach Wynn argued the call and was assessed a technical foul.

Toeing the line – Pelczynski nailed four consecutive shots and the lead ballooned to 39-27 with 7:09 remaining.

Benton didn’t get within single digits the rest of the way.

All of the happenings of the fourth quarter overshadowed a pretty good offensive performance by Benton’s Trevor Myers – who led the Rangers with 15 points. No other Benton player hit for double-digits in the loss.

“If they get ahead of you they are very dangerous,” added Lee. “They never got the lead and the ball and that was important because they are quick and we didn’t want to chase them. They had good guard play tonight.”

Pelczynski – who is averaging 24 points a game on the season – was a tough matchup for the Rangers.

“They (Benton) really have no match for Tommy,” Lee added. “He is 6-foot-5 and can go in-and-out. He can shoot over people or post up.”

Early in the contest – Benton looked primed for a big night and the potential for a key road win was there for the taking.

Limiting the possessions the Rangers had a pair of first quarter leads.

Tim Corn hit the games’ first shot – a 15-footer from near the foul line - for a 2-0 Benton advantage.

Myers made a pair of 3-pointers on the night and his first 20-footer of the evening gave the Rangers a 7-6 lead at 1:31 of the opening quarter.

The Hornets took the lead back for good with 1:03 left on a back door score by Jordan Snead.

Benton held the ball for nearly a minute to close the quarter but came up empty on a missed shot by Zach LaBuwi.

“That is a hard thing to do. Hold the ball for a minute or so and then try to hit a shot,” Lee added. “But that does put fear into an opponent. We didn’t want to have to chase them because I was afraid that they (Benton) would beat us to the basket. I thought that they were quicker than us on the perimeter.”

Nashville put some distance between themselves and the Rangers to start the second period.

A 6-0 run highlighted by two more baskets by Snead forced a Benton timeout and a 14-7 advantage.

Myers helped keep his club in contention with a seven-point second quarter.

He hit all five of his free throws and his conventional three-point play on a drive to the basket and while being fouled by Snead closed the first half scoring at 22-19 Nashville.

LaBuwi – at 6-foot-4 and the only inside presence the Rangers have to offer – hit a pair of shots in the paint for Matt Wynn’s club to open the second half as Benton creped to within a point each time.

Benton also got baskets by Sayler Shurtz and Corn in the third quarter to stay close to Nashville.

Nevertheless Pelczynski continued to be deadly from the foul line with two more charities made and another Snead lay in closed the quarter at 33-27.

The technical foul and Pelcznski’s four free throws gave Nashville its biggest lead up until that point and Benton never recovered.

Myers final points were on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to cut the Nashville lead down to 45-35 with 3:20 to go.

However another Nashville scoring run finished off the Rangers.

The Hornets got a drive to the basket and later two more free throws by Pelczynski to get the 8-0 run rolling.

Then Daniel Carson (on an assist from Pelczynski) and Michael Moeller (lay in) scored baskets.

When Moeller scored with :33 left in the game – Nashville led 53-35.

A Bryson Potts 3-pointer with :15 left closed the scoring.

“We are disappointed that we didn’t get a win this weekend,” added Wynn – referring to losses to Massac County and Nashville on back-to-back nights. “But it isn’t about winning and losing all the time. It is about how you win and how you lose and right now I think we are getting better and that is important for us.”

After Myers’ 15 markers – Shurtz added seven points while four Rangers (LaBuwi, Potts, Nolen and Corn) all scored four points.

Nashville got eight points each from Snead and Greg Guest and six points from Nick Harre.

“We have to have secondary scoring. When Tommy gets the ball there is a double (team) coming and he has to find the open guy and he has to hit some shots,” Lee added. “And that isn’t that easy to do when you only get one or two shots a game. It isn’t a lot of shots to get yourself warmed up.”

The Hornets head down to Du Quoin on Friday night for a key SIRR Mississippi Division showdown while Benton hosts Harrisburg on Friday.

“This game (Nashville) was a good pick up for our schedule and we leave here not satisfied but pleased with our effort,” finalized Wynn. “It doesn’t get any easier on our schedule so we need to keep battling.”

Benton (38) - Shurtz 3 0 1-2 7, Potts 0 1 1-3 4, Myers 2 2 5-5 15, Nolen 2 0 0-0 4, LaBuwi 2 0 0-1 4, Corn 2 0 0-0 4, Hamilton 0 0 0-0 0, Harp 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-11, 3FG-6, FT-10-24, PF-21.
Nashville (53) - Guest 1 1 3-4 8, Maschhoff 1 0 0-0 2, Harre 2 0 2-2 6, Pelczynski 4 0 12-12 20, Pedtke 0 0 0-0 0, Snead 4 0 0 0-0 8, Spenner 0 0 0-0 0, Conner 0 1 2-2 5, Moeller 1 0 0-0 2, Carson 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-14, 3FG-2, FT-19-20, PF-16.
Fouled Out - Guest - Nashville.
Technical Fouls - Benton Bench.