01-10-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE – A pretty good way of winning important conference games at any level is to get out to a good start and never let up.

The Nashville Hornet did just that in securing a 59-45 win Friday night at home against rival Pinckneyville in front of a large crowd at the Assembly Hall.

The hosts jumped out to an early lead and never let the Panthers off the matt in the double-digit victory, which gives the Hornets a 10-5 overall mark and first place in the SIRR Mississippi Division at 4-0.

Coach Brad Weathers’ club has shown a proficiency in getting to the foul line this season.

It is no secret that Nashville wants to exploit its size advantage by getting the ball inside to 6-foot-6 sophomore Royce Newman.

Newman punished the Panthers with 25-points on Friday night, by scoring inside and converting free throws when fouled.

In fact Pinckneyville has such a hard time guarding this second year varsity player that three of the Panthers were disqualified (five fouls each) in the contest.

“We already had a considerable size advantage and the fact that we were able to get it in to Royce (Newman) and he was able to finish and make free throws really helped the cause,” said Coach Weathers. “Both of their ‘bigs’ had three fouls at halftime. But give Pinckneyville credit, they were very well prepared. I thought that they did a lot of good things against our zone.”

Teammate Keegan Anderson also took advantage of the Pinckneyville personals on this night, hitting 8-of-8 foul shots on his way to 13-points.

Six-foot-six senior Clint Johannes added nine points for the Hornets in the triumph as they took over sole possession of first place in the division.

The Hornets made the Panthers pay from the stripe, nailing 19-of-23 charities in the victory, including 10-of-11 in the final countdown.

But perhaps the most alarming stat on the night for the Perry County contingent was the 24-9 rebounding edge held by the Hornets.

Newman and Johannes each had seven boards in the dominating effort.

“We have continued to work on rebounding and our rebounding responsibilities out of it (zone) and I’m not a zone guy. But we are going to continue to work at it,” added Coach Weathers. “This was a good win for us against a very aggressive and scrappy Pinckneyville team.”

Getting out-rebounded and out-played, the Panthers fell to 10-5 on the season, 3-1 in the conference.

The Panthers were topped by junior guard Nolan Luke with 13-points while Brian Taylor and Tristan Fisher, also juniors, added 12 and 11 to the chart.

Coach Bob Waggoner’s team fell behind early missing their first four shots and, despite making a few short runs, lost its first league game of the campaign.

Nashville began the day with a 10-2 run, sparked by a 3-pointer by Johannes and a pair of inside scores by Newman.

Newman’s second bucket on a spin move in the paint forced a Pinckneyville timeout at the 2:47 mark.

“Give them (Nashville) a lot of credit. They got the ball inside to the big horse (Newman) and he played really well,” said Coach Waggoner. “We didn’t do a very good job of positioning. Our perimeter defense on the entry pass wasn’t as good as it should have been and they took advantage of us.”

Pinckneyville got baskets by Fisher (a 3-pointer) and Luke (a midrange bucket) but still trailed 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

For the most part, Nashville kept the Panthers from any extended runs to keep their advantage.

“They (Nashville) did a good job against our zone press and they passed the ball well,” Coach Waggoner added. “They rotated the ball well and got some easy lay ups; those are difference makers. Overall I thought our effort was good but give Nashville credit. They used their length and their size in their zone. We are going to have to do a better job attacking it next time.”

However, after pushing the lead to double-digits in the early part of the second frame, the visitors responded with its best move.

With Newman scoring four early second quarter points the Hornets led 22-12.

Then Pinckneyville went on an 8-0 crusade, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Luke and Brayden Cowley triggering the move.

A pair of free throws by Fisher got the Panthers two within 22-20 with 1:08 left.

A basket by Johannes on a back door pass from junior guard Daniel Thorson closed the half at 24-20 Hornets.

Pinckneyville had chances to get the lead in the third quarter but they committed four of their eight turnovers.

This factor, along with Newman scoring six more points in the frame, gave Nashville a 36-30 edge heading to quarter number four.

That stanza belonged to the hosts, as they paraded to the foul line courtesy of the foul prone Panthers.

After a 9-2 start with Newman scoring inside and Anderson hitting from the outside, Nashville camped out at the charity stripe the rest of the way.

Anderson’s 3-point bomb and a pair of free throws after being fouled by Taylor on a fast break led to a 45-32 lead with 6:17 remaining.

Newman converted a pair of conventional three-point plays, getting loose near the basket and finishing while being fouled.

His second of the conversions, grabbing a rebound for a put-back, pushed the lead to 55-40 with 1:55 remaining.

“He (Newman) did a nice job tonight. And he moved as well as I have seen him move since he came back from the ankle injury,” Coach Weathers added. “So that is certainly a good sign for us.”

Senior Hunter Beetley “iced the cake” with a fast break score on a pass from Newman for a 57-42 lead.

Pinckneyville shot the ball well enough to win on most nights, connecting on 20-of-40 shots overall and 5-of-15 from the 3-point line.

But all other stats in the “tale of the tape” favored Nashville.

The Hornets were extremely efficient offensively, hitting 19-of-32 shots overall (59.3 percent).

Out of the 13-missed shots, Nashville grabbed seven offensive rebounds.

Despite 12-turnovers by the Hornets, the hosts earned the win.

“The big difference was when you get into foul trouble they get some easy points. We had some good opportunities but in a game like this with their size and length you can’t have too many stretches where you miss shots and free throws and then have unforced turnovers,” added Coach Waggoner. “Tonight those all cost us.”

Nashville heads back to action on Saturday night hosting Washington County rivals Okawville while the Panthers will host Vandalia, also on Saturday.

“We didn’t have two or three bad things happen in a row tonight,” said Coach Weathers, referring to stopping Pinckneyville runs. “So that was a good sign.”