01-24-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON – In a tournament set up like the one at the Benton Invitational Tournament in which a team will play five games in six days, teams are going to have “off nights.”

That was the case for the Pinckneyville Panthers on Friday night as they played Hamilton County in the middle contest in the third session of the 41st annual even.

At least it was that way at the beginning.

However it is the good teams with resolve and purpose that overcome not bringing their best to the gymnasium.

Panthers’ head coach Bob Waggoner saw his team muddle through this contest, doing just enough to pick up a 57-47 victory over the Foxes.

With the win Pinckneyville stayed on track to win the tournament with their third consecutive win in the tournament for a 3-0 mark heading into the Saturday two-game final day for each of the six teams entered.

“We had a pair of tough games with Okawville and Benton and tonight our legs weren’t there early but we gutted through it. But we found a way to get it done,” said Coach Waggoner, who celebrated his birthday with a win. “After the second quarter it was basically a stalemate but we did what we needed to do (getting the lead). In a tournament like this with five games in six days we were fortunate to get that lead and play through it.”

Using a second quarter in which they hit eight of their first ten attempts and forced Hamilton County into four turnovers with its half-court trap, Pinckneyville improved their 2013-14 won-loss mark to 14-6 on the season.

The Panthers were topped in scoring by three players with double-digits, with Brian Taylor leading the charge with 16-points.

Nathan Luke and Clayton Houghland added 14 and 10.

Coach Waggoner saw his squad jump start the offense by defensively challenging the opposition in the second quarter, outscoring the Foxes, 23-8 to take a 33-22 halftime advantage.

Hamilton County saw its mark for the week slip to 0-3 and its overall record fell to 4-14.

Coach Keith Welch had some bright spots with junior guard Jake Scattone scoring 16-points while senior Bailey Gay added 13.

The Panthers were 21-of-37 (56.7 percent) from the floor overall and hit 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Hamilton County wasn’t quite as productive from the field, hitting 16-of-38 (42.1 percent) in the contest.

Both teams finished with 20 rebounds with 16 defensive and four offensive, a stat that mirrored itself.

As for the action, Hamilton County looked like an upset-minded club in the early going.

The Foxes got a couple of baskets early from senior Travis Stevens as this 6-foot-2 forward got loose for a transition score and a drive down the baseline for an early 6-4 advantage.

Stevens added a pair of free throws late in the stanza as did junior Tucker Braden.

When junior guard Landon Vaughan drove the baseline for a score late in the quarter, the Foxes enjoyed a 14-10 lead after one.

The turning and tipping points of the match up occurred in the early going of the second quarter as the Panthers came out and hit 8-of-10 from the field in the beginning, which helped get Pinckneyville some cushion.

A 9-2 run with a pair of baskets by junior Caleb Dahn and 3-pointer by Luke pushed the Panthers in front at 19-16 with 5:26 remaining.

Pinckneyville finished the best quarter of the game for them offensively with another run of 11-3, with the spotlight on a two scores by 6-foot-2 sophomore Clayton Houghland.

Houghland grabbed a rebound for a stick-back and then made a nice move in the paint for a basket and an 11-point lead at the intermission.

“Clayton Houghland came in and did a good job for us and got us some points in the post,” added Coach Waggoner. “I thought speeding them up and picking up the pace was in our favor tonight.”

Hamilton County got within six points in the third quarter but could never generate enough offense to make a serious run at the Panthers.

A 3-pointer from the right wing by Scattone and another bucket by Stevens got the scored down to 36-30 Panthers with 3:20 left in the third.

But once again Pinckneyville put together another run, getting another score from Houghland and a steal and fast break score from Tyler Rulevish. Luke added a pair of free throws as the Panthers led 42-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Foxes’ last gasp came about with a 7-0 run with Scattone hitting another long range shot while Gay scored four points on a pair of free throws and a drive to the basket.

This run got Hamilton County within 46-38 with 5:10 left.

Pinckneyville finished off the contest by gradually pulling away with their title hopes in this event still attached.

Had the Panthers been more productive from the foul line (7-of-16 in the fourth quarter) this game could have been over minutes earlier.

Both teams have two games on Saturday.

Pinckneyville will play Sesser-Valier at 11 am and then will tackle Carlyle, who is also 3-0 in the tournament, at 9 pm for what could be a chance at the outright title of the BIT.

Hamilton County will play Carlyle at 2 pm and then the host Rangers at 7:30 pm.

“They (Pinckneyville) sped us up there in the second quarter and it is something that a lot of teams have been able to do this year,” said Coach Welch. “I thought it was a gutsy performance by our kids after the game we played on Wednesday night (a 77-49 loss to Sesser-Valier) coming out and putting forth that kind of effort. They went on a run but we didn’t throw in the towel.”

Pinckneyville (57) – Taylor 3 1 7-12 16, Luke 4 1 3-4 14, Cowley 1 0 0-0 2, Fisher 2 1 2-5 9, Houghland 5 0 0-0 10, Dahn 2 0 0-0 4, Banach 0 0 0-0 0, Rulevish 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-12-21, PF-15.
Hamilton County (47) – Vaughan 1 0 0-0 2, Billington 0 0 1-3 1, Anselment 1 0 0-0, Scattone 2 4 0-1 16, Gay 4 1 2-4 13, Kelly 0 0 0-0 0, Braden 0 0 2-2 2, Stevens 3 0 5-6 11, Craddock 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-11, 3FG-5, FT-10-16, PF-17.
Fouled Out – Houghland - Pinckneyville.
Technical Fouls – None.

Freshman Nathan Frederking paced the 1-2 Rockets with 19-points to lead all scorers.

The Rangers fell to 0-3 in the tournament getting 19-points from Nathaniel Higginson in the loss.