Using an overwhelming rebounding edge over visiting Carterville to counter a major problem in the turnover department, the hosts squashed a Lions' fourth quarter rally for a 59-54 win at the Assembly Hall on a rainy, somber evening.

Coach Brad Weathers' club held Carterville to just five total offensive rebounds and a 33-15 overall edge to combat having 16-turnovers overall in the conference win.

The victory pushed the Hornets to a 13-1 overall mark and 3-0 in the Mississippi Division, tied for first with Pinckneyville.

For the Lions and head coach Scott Burzynski, the squad nearly pulled off the comeback but the rally fell short as they saw their record slip to 10-3 overall, with their first loss in conference play (2-1).

“We knew coming in with their size and their physicality was one of their strengths and they did a good job early against our trap, getting the ball into the lane,” said Coach Burzynski. “They (Nashville) got the ball down on the baseline and finished.”

With the crowd and the home team going through some sadness in the wake of a local tragedy, the team managed to stay focused enough to pick up the important divisional win.

A plane crash just hours earlier involving a prominent local family was fresh on the minds of the Hornets and their faithful fans as they took the floor on Saturday night.

The hosts, however, managed to overcome all of these obstacles for the victory.

For the Hornets, 6-foot-7 junior Royce Newman led the way with 18-points for Nashville, including three 3-pointers.

A trio of Hornets hit for 10-points apiece; Daniel Thorson, Dylan Mueller and Brady Bultman.

Nashville got to the foul line, especially in the fourth quarter, and ended up hitting 80 percent from the line for the win.

“It was ugly (the game) at times but Carterville is capable of doing that to you (turnovers) but we hit the shots that we needed and we were pretty good from the foul line (16-of-20),” said Coach Weathers. “It has not been a good weekend in Nashville, obviously, and you never know how kids are going to respond. I'm really please the way we played through our difficulties.”

Carterville got 19 and 18-points respectively from twins Will and Matt Galik in the game, as the duo combined for five 3-pointers.

Both found ways of scoring on both long range shots and drives to the basket against the Nashville zone defense.

However the Hornets, the ABV top-ranked 2A squad, held serve at home against the ABV fifth-ranked 2A team.

Nashville also got six-points from senior Troy Pedtke and five-points from senior Hunter Cooper in the triumphant return home after winning the Breese Mater Dei Holiday Tournament.

Carterville, champions of the Pinckneyville “Duster Thomas Classic” last Saturday, fell behind early but managed to get back into the contest late before falling just short.

Nashville started the contest with a first quarter that saw them take a double-digit lead behind a couple of good scoring runs.

Trailing 5-4, the only Carterville lead of the night, Nashville scored the next seven points with Newman hitting his first 3-pointer and Mueller and Thorson scoring on shots inside.

The Hornets began its onslaught on the offensive glass in that opening frame, grabbing four offensive boards.

On its next scoring burst (9-2), Nashville used another bucket by Newman underneath the basket and a 3-point bomb by Thorson to extend the advantage.

When Pedtke grabbed another rebound for a put back with 2:18 left, Coach Burzynski needed a timeout at 20-10 Nashville.

Two more baskets by Mueller, with one of the scores coming on a fast-break on an assist from Thorson, made it 24-12.

Will Galik, who scored 10 of his points in the first quarter, closed the scoring in the opening stanza with a 3-pointer as the Lions trailed by nine at the first stoppage.

The Lions coughed up six of their nine turnovers in the first quarter to fall into a deficit.

Carterville clawed its way back into contention with a 7-2 start of the second.

Matt Galik followed a score by Austin Swalls, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, with drive to the basket and a 3-pointer that cut into the Hornets lead.

When he hit his long-range shot at the 6:47 mark, the Lions were down just 26-22.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter.

However Nashville managed to muscle their way into the scorebook by getting to the foul line.

After a second 3-pointer by Newman, the Hornets got 4-of-6 free throws by Newman (3) and Thorson (1) to take a 33-22 lead.

“He (Newman) is capable of knocking that shot (3-pointers) down. We have worked on it in practice and we want him to knock that shot down when he is open,” added Coach Weathers. “He has probably hit a half-a-dozen this year.”

Will Galik closed the half with another 3-pointer as the Lions went to the break down nine.

The two teams (Nashville 10, Carterville 8) combined to miss 18-shots in the quarter.

Carterville rallied quickly in the second half, hitting their first two shots to get within three-points.

Swalls hit the first of his two 3-point bombs of the night and Will Galik followed with a score from the left baseline to cut the Nashville lead to just 33-30.

Despite Newman hitting another 3-pointer and a shot in close along with a rebound basket by Pedtke, Nashville struggled putting the Lions down for the count.

Matt Galik got the Carterville club close at the end of the third with a runner in the lane and then a fast-break assist to sophomore Taylor Heil.

Galik made a steal with just seconds left in the stanza and his pass found Heil just to the right of the foul line.

Heil launched a shot that beat the buzzer to cut the Hornets' lead to just 41-37 heading to the fourth quarter.

Nashville jumped out to a good beginning of the final period but, unfortunately, found a way to let the Lions hang around.

A 9-2 run to begin the quarter gave Nashville a 50-39 lead, its biggest of the second half, with four different Hornets scoring.

Bultman, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, opened the frame with a 3-pointer on a set play by the Hornets.

Newman, Mueller and Thorson (two free throws) followed with points to give Coach Weathers' team an 11-point edge.

But Carterville rallied to make a game of it late.

Nashville committed eight of their turnovers in the fourth quarter, allowing the Lions to get within four-points four different times in the final 2:10.

However each time, Nashville responded.

Matt Galik scored eight of his points in those last two minutes.

His drive to the basket after a steal resulted in a lay in to cut it to 54-50 with 1:01 left.

A late basket by Heil got the Lions back within four again at 56-52.

But the key element in the end was that Nashville converted free throws when the Lions were forced to foul.

The hosts connected on nine consecutive free throws in the final 1:53.

When Cooper finally missed a free throw, the second of a two-shot opportunity, Nashville was up 59-52 with :11.4 to go.

A late score by Matt Galik closed the scoring as Carterville left the Assembly Hall with their first loss in the conference.

“After giving up 24-points in the first quarter we could have gotten blown out but the kids responded,” said Coach Burzynski. “We didn't just come up here to compete, we came up here to win. We are not going to be satisfied with just getting close. But I think our guys are there where we are a step away from being a really, really good team.”

The Lions were 22-of-50 overall from the floor (44 percent) with 8-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Coach Burzynski's club didn't help the cause any by committing nine turnovers and their rebounding disadvantage kept them from getting many second chances.

“We knew coming in that we would get some good looks at the basket and we wanted to shoot the ball well. At times we did shoot the ball well but we didn't hit enough shots to win,” Coach Burzynski said. “They have big kids underneath and we didn't do very well getting to the glass to rebound. We talked at halftime that we have to make sure that we get four guys going to the boards on the offensive end.”

The Hornets were 19-of-42 (45.2 percent) and 5-of-11 from deep.

Nashville will travel to Pinckneyville next Friday for a league game against the rival Panthers while Carterville also will hit the road on the same night, at Sparta.

“They are long (Galik twins) and they do a lot of the things that we do with their zone and we don't see that a lot so that was good for us,” Coach Weathers said. “This was a big conference win but there is a lot of conference left to play, and it will be tough top to bottom.”