02-22-06
BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN - After navigating some rough waters the past few weeks, the Nashville Hornets' ship appears headed on the right course.

With Lucas O'Rear in the captains' chair scoring 25-points and leading his team to a commanding 27-14 rebounding edge, his vessel is on the verge of yet another regional championship voyage after sinking Du Quoin battleship Wednesday night, 62-47, at the Woodlawn Class A Regional.

Steaming out to an early lead and holding the Indians to a mere four points in the first eight minutes, Nashville charted victory number 20 for head coach Darin Lee and are now sailing toward a title game showdown with Waltonville Friday night at Sides Gymnasium.

Steady as she goes.

Playing perhaps its best game in several weeks, Nashville looks primed to add another regional title plaque to an already full awards case.

"All and all I think we played well tonight," said Lee, whose team is going for its third consecutive regional crown. "We had a few lapses but we did a good job running our offense and got the job done."

Jumping out to an early lead, the Hornets never trailed as they won their third game this season against River-to-River mate Du Quoin.

"He (O'Rear) is a load in there and when he didn't block a shot he was altering some," said Du Quoin mentor Mike Crews who saw his team end its season 10-19 overall. "I thought at times we played pretty well but is seemed like there was a lid on the basket."

Hitting just 1-of-9 first quarter shots, DQ fell behind in a hurry.

O'Rear scored the first six points of the game for his club on a rebound effort, a pair of free throws and a nice spin move in the lane past Du Quoin senior center Bubba Harsey.

Following a Tyler Bullock score on shot in the paint that got Du Quoin to within a 6-4 score, Nashville ran off six consecutive points.

Todd Kostecki and Brandon Reckmann each scored baskets in the tirade, with a Reckmann finishing off the burst with a 17-footer from the right wing ending the quarter at 12-4.

Harsey scored eight of his team-high 12-points in the second quarter to help the Indians stay close.

He scored six consecutive points himself in a brief run that got the Indians back to within five at 19-14 with 3:51 before the half.

But O'Rear and his teammates closed the stanza strong with an 11-4 sprint.

The 6-foot-6 junior scored twice on a power move to the basket and on a lay up in transition.

Holding the ball the final :44 before the break, Nashville got an open look from Blake Patton from the left corner and this 6-foot senior drilled home a 3-pointer with :03 remaining to make it 30-18 at intermission.

Du Quoin's problems shifted from shooting woes in the opening quarter to having 'slippery fingers' in that second frame.

Seven turnovers - 12 for the game - stopped several potential scoring opportunities as coach Crews saw the Hornets pull away. Nashville had a hand in the DQ dilemma with four takeaways.

Nashville opened the third quarter even more aggressive than it did at the start of the contest.

O'Rear scored six points in the first minute.

A reverse lay in on a baseline move started the run. On the next DQ possession he made a steal and drove to the basket for a one-handed slam-dunk.

His turnaround shot in the lane with 7:00 left made it 36-21 Nashville.

Du Quoin managed one good run before the night was done.

Following a Patton shot from 15-feet that pushed the lead to 51-34 at the 5:38 mark of the fourth quarter, DQ started to pressure the Hornets' guards and it paid off with a pair of turnovers and easy points that highlighted a 10-2 run.

Ridge Thompson made both of the steals and his fast break scores got the Indians back in contention.

With a Brandon Hirsch score in the lane, Du Quoin trailed just 53-44 with 2:59 left.

However Nashville connected on five straight free throws and got a 'game deciding' fast break score by Patton from a baseball pass from O'Rear with :42 left.

Both teams emptied their respective benches as the Hornets advanced.

"We made a run at them late in the game but it was a bit too late," Crews added. "I am proud of the kids effort tonight. In the last two and a half weeks these kids really busted their cans to get better."

Nashville made the Indians pay dearly by pounding the ball inside the paint. The Hornets attempted just three shots from behind the 3-point line, making two of them.

Overall, coach Lee's club was 24-of-48 while holding Du Quoin to an 18-of-41 (43 percent) shooting night.

O'Rear topped all scorers with his 25 while Patton tossed in 12-points.

Nine Nashville players scored in the game.

Du Quoin was led by Harsey's 12 and 10-points off the bench from Hirsch.

Nashville made 12-of-13 free throws as the Hornets appear ready for the much-anticipated matchup against Waltonville on Friday night.

"I know that they (Waltonville) have some size and we haven't really seen many teams that big," added Lee.

	1	2	3	4	-	Final
Du Quoin	4	14	12	17		47
Nashville	12	18	16	16		62

Du Quoin (47) - Harsey 5 0 2-2 12, Bullock 1 0 0-0 2, Hirsch 4 0 2-4 10, Piper 1 0 0-0 2, Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Campanella 0 0 0-0 0, Gross 0 1 3-4 6, Thompson 3 1 0-0 9, Ehler 0 1 0-0 3, Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Anders 0 1 0-0 3, Booker 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-14, 3FG-4, FT-7-10, PF-15.
Nashville (62) - Reckmann 2 1 0-0 7, Morris 2 0 0-0 4, Weathers 0 0 0-0 0, Engle 0 0 0-0 0, Pelcznski 0 0 2-2 2, Kostecki 1 0 0-0 2, Patton 3 1 3-4 12, Moeller 1 0 0-0 2, Conner 0 0 0-0 0, York 2 0 0-0 4, O'Rear 9 0 7-7 25, Keller 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-226, 3FG-2, FT-12-13, PF-12.
Fouled Out - None.
Technical Fouls - None.