03-09-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - The Nashville Hornets are once again champions of the SIRR Mississippi Division but it took a great overall effort on Tuesday night to secure the crown.

Coach Wayne Harre's club made a pair of key 9-0 runs, one to open the contest and the other to break the final tie score in the fourth quarter, as Nashville improved to 10-0 in the league with a 55-44 victory over the Pinckneyville Panthers at home.

Senior guard Buzz Ritzel made the most of “Senior Night” at the Assembly Hall as he helped lead the Hornets' comeback on the night with 17-points, including a big 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter.

Junior Isaac Turner and senior Jaxon Goforth added 11 and 10 respectively for Nashville as they improved to 12-1 with the victory.

“They came back on us and got a four point lead but our kids stayed focused and did the small things that they needed to get the job done,” said Coach Harre. “Once we got back the lead the kids made good decisions. They kicked it out when they needed to, they got the rebounds and the steals when we needed them. Those characteristics of knowing what to do in game situations, some of that you can't teach. This team has those characteristics.”

The Panthers closed out their season at 12-3 overall with all three losses coming in conference play.

Coach Bob Waggoner got 17-points from senior forward Dre Scott, nine points from junior guard Duke Riggins, seven points from junior Vaden Szczepanski and five points from senior guard Ben Restoff in the loss.

In a season that has been anything but normal, the game on Tuesday night played out like most of the other games in this rivalry.

The outcome hinged on two scoring droughts by the Panthers in which they allowed Nashville an good early start and then a great finish.

Pinckneyville didn't get its first points of the game until the end of the first quarter and they went over four minutes in the fourth quarter without a point.

In both of those situations, Nashville took advantage by outscoring the visitors 18-0.

“This was like 'Ground Hog Day' for us. It happened at both places (at home earlier in the season) and tonight we were at the free throw line with 3:30 left with a chance to take the lead and we miss the free throws, give up a score and then we turn it over,” said Coach Waggoner. “Down at our place we were tied at the two minute mark, missed a free throw and gave up a long shot. You have to give credit to Nashville for making the plays but at the same time I'm really proud of the effort the players gave us to stay in the game. It was tough physical game throughout.”

Goforth, Turner and Ritzel all produced points in the opening 9-0 run although it also took the Hornets a few minutes to get going.

A drive in the lane by Goforth, a 3-pointer from Turner and consecutive scores by Ritzel put Nashville on top early.

However the Panthers closed the quarter with their only four points; two free throws by Szczepanski and a score on an inbounds play by Riggins made it 9-4 at the end of a defense dominated first quarter.

Both teams struggled early shooting the ball (5-of-23 combined) but things got better offensively as the game progressed.

Pinckneyville rallied in the second quarter to forge a pair of tie scores.

Scott scored eight of his points in the frame with 5-of-8 from the foul line and a 3-pointer from the left wing that got the Panthers even for the first time at 17-17 with 3:08 remaining.

Six-foot-six junior Kolten Gajewski scored eight points on the night for Nashville, including back-to-back baskets late in the second quarter.

A drive in the lane and a fall away jumper that banked in, along with a 3-pointer from Ritzel, gave Nashville a 24-21 lead at halftime.

Coach Waggoner's club made a move in the third quarter and got the lead for the first time.

Defensively the Panthers stepped up and offensively the put together a nice run.

Riggins, Restoff and sophomore Kellen Scott, each nailed 3-point shots in the quarter

When Scott drilled home his attempt with just under two minutes left, Pinckneyville led 38-34.

Ritzel added a bucket to close the third quarter with the Hornets down two and he also scored the first points of the fourth quarter.

He nailed his second consecutive shot, a 3-pointer, to open the fourth quarter to give Nashville back the lead.

Goforth added a basket and Dre Scott made 3-of-4 free throws in the early stage of the final stanza.

With the game tied at 42-42, the Panthers had two opportunities to get back the lead but failed on both.

Dre Scott missed two free throws and then Nashville turned it over when Ritzel was called for a charging foul with 3:18 left.

With the ball and a chance to take the lead, Pinckneyville turned it over as Turner made a steal and raced to the other end for a fast break lay in while being fouled.

Turner missed the free throw but Goforth went for the offense rebound and tipped the ball back out a teammate.

The Hornets then got the ball back to Goforth while spreading the floor and his drive to the basket resulted in a score and a 46-42 Nashville advantage.

Pinckneyville made the mistake of fouling junior guard Nolan Heggemeier in the fourth quarter.

The 5-foot-10 backcourt player nailed down 7-of-8 from the line in the final 1:18.

The one miss ended up being an offensive rebound by junior Saxton Hoepker the ended up sending Heggemeier back to the line.

In between the trips to the line by Heggemeier, Pinckneyville turned the ball over three times late.

A rebound basket by Dre Scott with :17 left were the final Panther points before Heggemeier hit his final two tosses to close the scoring.

“This was just a classic game between two River-to-River rivals. It would have been even better if this place was full and loud or if this game had been at SIU Arena tonight,” said Coach Waggoner. “I'm just proud of our team and our effort. Our two seniors (Dre Scott, Ben Restoff) are the reason we had such a great season because of their leadership. It has been a great, great year for us in a very difficult time.”

Nashville ended up 18-of-38 overall for the game, but just 3-of-12 from the 3-point arc.

They also held a slight 24-21 rebounding advantage.

Pinckneyville was just 13-of-34 from the field, but a pretty good 5-of-11 from 19'9”.

One other key stat of importance helped Nashville get the victory.

While the Hornet committed just three turnovers in the game, they forced Pinckneyville into 10 miscues with seven of those coming in the second half.

“It's been a different kind of year but I've been really happy with the focus of our kids for most of the year. We didn't have much practice time, physical contact practices early because of our region had to sit out. I thought the kids did a good job 'learning on the go' and learning game situations,” said Coach Harre. “I'm really proud of the group for staying focused for this long. Going undefeated in the conference is always tough. You have quality teams and quality coaches in this league. I told the kids not many times are teams going to go undefeated in this conference and even though it is a Covid year you can put this feather in your hat and enjoy it.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: The “milestone” that was mentioned in the headline concerns the all-time won-loss record of the tradition long Pinckneyville Panthers' boy's basketball program. It was thought that the Panthers entered the 2020-21 season sitting on 1,975 victories. However Illinois High School Basketball guru extraordinaire Aaron Britton (a.k.a Nesto) did some research this past summer and discovered 12 additional wins for the Panthers, adding up to 1,987 for the 104 year history. Discrepancies were discovered in three seasons. In 1928-29, the IHSA website shows them at 3-0 on the season when in fact they were 20-2. In 1929-30 they were listed at 0-5 when it was found that the Panthers were 1-13. In 1934-35 the IHSA has 17-6 when they actually were 11-10. The addition of these corrected records makes Pinckneyville (counting the 12-3 record this season) 1,999-824 all-time in 105 seasons. A victory on Tuesday night would have given the program 2,000.

Pinckneyville (44) – Restoff 1 1 0-0 5, Riggins 3 1 0-0 9, Adcock 1 0 0-0 2, Launius 0 0 0-0 0, K. Scott 0 1 0-0 3, Moll 0 0 1-2 3, D. Scott 2 1 10-16 17, Szczepanski 1 1 2-2 7.
2FG-8, 3FG-5, FT-13-20, PF-20.
Nashville (55) - Schoenherr 0 0 0-0 0, Heggemeier 0 0 7-8 7, Ritzel 4 2 3-7 17, Hoepker 0 0 2-3 2, Goforth 5 0 0-0 10, Gajewski 3 0 2-2 8, Turner 3 1 2-3 11, Robinson 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-15, 3FG-3, FT-16-23, PF-17.
Fouled Out – Szczepanski - Pinckneyville.
Technical Fouls – None.