And for sophomore guard Grant Jausel, it was a breakout performance.

The 6-foot guard, who was averaging just six points a game for Coach Bob Waggoner's club heading into the weekend, tossed in a career-high 29-points while drilling home six of the teams' nine 3-pointers in a masterful 74-49 win over the Hornets at Duster Thomas Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Jausel, who had scored 18-points in the Panthers' win over Anna-Jonesboro on Friday night, followed up that preview with the main-attraction on Saturday night.

Jausel was a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line, also.

The Panthers combined for a 9-of-20 effort from beyond the arc.

“Grant is a really good shooter and he played with confidence. We got him the ball and he made shots. He was hot last night at Anna-Jonesboro and it carried over tonight,” said Coach Waggoner. “The pace of the game was really in our favor. Our guards did a great job of speeding them up. I thought defensively we battled in the post the best that we could.”

Clayton Houghland, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, netted 16-points as he hit two of the 3's in the contest while Jackson Brand added a long-range bomb and 9-of-10 free throws for 12-points.

Six-foot-four senior Sam Simpson tossed home nine-points as all of these figures added up to a commanding victory that moved the Panthers into a first place tie with Nashville at 8-1 in the SIRR Mississippi Division.

As for the visiting Hornets, who were coming off of an 80-66 rout of Carterville on Friday night, they found the going much tougher on Dick Corn Court as they committed 12-turnovers against the much quicker Panthers.

Royce Newman, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, netted 20-points and grabbed 12-rebounds in the loss while teammate junior guard Hayden Heggemeier added 12-points.

Coach Brad Weathers club fell to 8-1 in the league and 17-10 overall.

“They (Pinckneyville) really shot the ball well tonight and their pressure defense caused us a lot of problems,” said Coach Weathers. “When they are doing that (defending and shooting well) they are a very good ballclub.”

After a pretty good opening act and a decent run in the second, the Hornets let Pinckneyville get some separation before intermission.

A big run in the third quarter by the Panthers changed the complexion of the drama and before anyone wearing Blue and Red could do anything about it, the closing credits were rolling in the fourth quarter.

Houghland scored 10 of his points in the first quarter for Pinckneyville.

His drive to the basket for a three-point play while being fouled by Nashville's Brogan Kemp tied the game early at 4-4.

Heggemeier hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter and Brady Bultman, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored on drive to the bucket to even things at 15-15 at the end of one.

Jausel didn't score a point in the first quarter but it took him just a few seconds in the second act to get the crowd's attention.

He nailed his first trifecta from the right win to put the Panthers up 18-15.

The sophomore then added a fast-break scoring on a pass from Houghland that forced a Nashville time out.

Jausel notched his third 3-pointer of the quarter while being fouled on the play by Nashville's Jarvis Dalman.

He converted the rare four-point play which gave Pinckneyville a 34-28 lead with :32.1 left.

On Nashville's next possession, the Hornets turned the ball over and the Panthers headed up the floor in transition as the clock ticked close to the end of the half.

Simpson attempted a lay in that missed the mark but Jausel cleaned up the mess with a tip-in that was ruled good before the horn as the clubs headed to the break at 36-28.

Any notion that this game was going to remain close went completely away in the first few minutes of the third.

The Panthers used a 14-2 run, with Jausel scoring eight of those points, that gave the hosts a 20-point lead with 4:07 left in the frame.

Jausel nailed two more 3-pointers in the sprint and teammate Brand added a pair of free throws after an intentional foul was called on Kemp.

When senior forward Hayden Carter joined the fun with a score in the lane on a nice hook shot, Pinckneyville led 53-33.

The fourth quarter was mostly spent at the foul line for both teams.

However the Panthers, who were 19-of-22 from the line overall, ended the night with an 11-of-12 run from the stripe in the final five minutes.

Brand was 7-of-8 in the quarter while Jausel was 4-of-4 in that same stretch.

The reserves closed out the game as the curtain closed.

“We got behind and it is very difficult for us to play from behind. They spread us out, ran their motion offense and picked us apart,” added Coach Weathers. “They would drive in, then kick it out to their shooters. Give them credit for that. Their shooters knocked them down.”

The Panthers were 23-of-41 overall from the floor, 9-of-20 from the arc and they committed just three turnovers.

Nashville hit 50 percent of its shots (17-of-34) but coughed up those 12-turnovers, with nearly all of them resulting in points for the Panthers.

The Hornets, behind Newman, held a 19-17 rebounding edge.

Pinckneyville is now 22-6 overall and are now tied for the conference lead with each team having one league game to play.

Coach Waggoner's team will head to Carterville on Friday night while Nashville will host DuQuoin on the same night.

“It was a big conference win for us but our work isn't done,” said Coach Waggoner.

Nashville (49) – Schnitker 0 0 0-0 0, Heggemeier 4 1 1-3 12, Kell 0 0 0-0 0, Dalman 0 0 0-0 0, Bultman 1 0 2-3 4, Edwards 0 0 0-0 0, Brink 0 2 1-2 7, Briles 0 0 1-2 1, Haley 0 0 0-0 0, Newman 7 0 6-9 20, Kemp 2 0 1-2 5.
2FG-14, 3FG-3, FT-12-21, PF-16.
Pinckneyville (74) – C. Jausel 0 0 0-0 0, Moll 1 0 0-0 2, Chandler 0 0 0-0 0, Brand 0 1 9-10 12, Lazenby 0 0 0-0 0, Luke 2 0 0-0 4, G. Jausel 3 6 5-5 29, Louis 0 0 0-0 0, Carter 1 0 0-0 2, Houghland 4 2 2-3 16, Simpson 3 0 3-4 9, Howard 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-14, 3FG-9, FT-19-22, PF-18.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.