Clayton Houghland provided that fire-power.

The 6-foot-3 senior forward went to work in the first half, netting 24 of his 27 points in the first 16-minutes, as the Panthers put an exclamation point on the hosts' successful day of games with a 47-37 win over the Explorers.

Houghland finished 10-of-17 from the field himself and nailed four 3-point shots in the win as the Panthers improved to 18-6 on the season.

He also led the club on the glass, grabbing eight-rebounds.

“I thought they would have issues with us because of our post players and I thought our perimeter guys did a great job of taking care of the ball,” said Pinckneyville head coach Bob Waggoner. “Eventually I thought our defensive pressure would bother them. Our kids executed the game plan very well. Jason (Houghland) got us going early.”

Houghland scored all but four of the Panthers' points in the first half and his late quarter 3-pointer that beat the buzzer cut Alton Marquette's lead to just 13-12.

Marquette was led by Shandon Boone, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, with 10-points while teammates Reagan Snider and Ben Sebacher tossed home eight each.

After Jackson Brand scored the opening points of the game for Pinckneyville to make it 2-0 in the first minute, Houghland scored the rest of the points in the half for the Panthers.

Boone hit his first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc for an 8-5 lead.

Marquette's Terry Aguirre hit his only basket of the game, also a 3-pointer and a basket by Sebacher gave the Explorers a 13-9 lead.

But Houghland finished the quarter with a buzzer beating 3-point bomb to make it 13-12.

The second quarter was all about Houghland exploding and Alton Marquette imploding.

Houghland hit five more shots, his final three were all 3-point bombs.

The Explorers tried to draw the Panthers out of a zone defense in the second quarter by going four-corners but the result wasn't good.

The turned the ball over and Houghland scored on back-to-back plays for a 16-13 lead.

Simpson tossed in a basket in the lane and after a Marquette call on a charge, the Explorers bench was issued a technical foul.

Houghland made one of the free throws and then nailed his first of the three trey's.

Marquette's Nick Messinger delived a pair of shots on a rebound bucket and a 3-pointer.

But when Houghland delivered trey number three in the frame, Pinckneyville took a 28-18 lead at the break.

The Explorers fell behind by as many as 16-points in the third quarter, but they managed the last five points in the frame to cut the deficit to 40-29.

Consecutive scores by Snider and Sebacher got Alton Marquette closed the third and Snider opened the fourth quarter with a bucket.

But the Panthers were in control, running their offensive patiently and getting shots to fall.

Grant Jausel, a 6-foot sophomore guard, hit a 3-pointer and a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers missed some free throws down the stretch but the Explorers never took advantage as they fell to 15-7 on the season.

Coach Waggoner's club hit 17-of-34 from the floor (50 percent) while winning the glass war at 21-16.

“I thought a key tonight was him (Houghland) hitting that three to end the first quarter. It was a momentum switch and when they got the lead we're not a come-from-behind team. We have to get ahead and play with the lead,” said Alton Marquette head coach Steve Medford. “We are kind of like them, when we get a lead we are more methodical. But we had to play from behind and it was tough for us.”

Alton Marquette (37) – Aguirre 0 1 2-2 5, Snider 2 1 1-2 8, Sebacher 4 0 0-0 8, Boone 1 1 5-7 10, Messinger 1 1 1-4 6, Derrington 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-8, 3FG-4, FT-9-15, PF-15.
Pinckneyville (47) – Houghland 6 4 3-5 27, Simpson 2 1 2-2 9, Moll 0 1 1-2 4, Brand 1 0 0-0 2, Jausel 1 1 0-0 5, Luke 0 0 0-0 0, Brueggemann 0 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-10, 3FG-7, FT-6-10, PF-14.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – Alton Marquette Bench.

WOODLAWN 60, WATERLOO GIBAULT 56
On Saturday night at the Pinckneyville Showcase, the state-ranked and ABV number three team in 1A, the Woodlawn Cardinals, got a chance to take on a challenging opponent in battle-tested and ranked 1A powerhouse Waterloo Gibault.

Coach Shane Witzel's team once again proved that they were up to the task.

Woodlawn led nearly the entire game and made the right moves late in the contest to hold off the Hawks in one of the marquee match ups of the all-day event at Duster Thomas Gym on Dick Corn Court.

Ross Owens is the leader of this flock, and he didn't disappoint in the game as he led the way with 19-points and four-rebounds as the Cardinals added a 60-56 triumph over the Hawks to their already strong resume.

The 6-foot-5 senior guard was also spot on from the foul line in hitting all four of his attempts, including the game clinching tosses with :01.8 left.

Senior Brett Harris added 11-points to the assault while the Cards added two more double-figure scorers, Austin Ballard and Blake Wollerman, with 10-points apiece.

However with all of that said, perhaps the biggest contribution on the night came from reserve Trey Issac, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, who stepped off the bench and into the limelight with a pair of crucial baskets in the fourth quarter as he finished with eight-points.

With Waterloo Gibault inching closer to the Cardinals, cutting the lead down to just 49-47 with just over two minutes remaining, Issac scored on a pair of cuts to the basket where he received excellent assists by both Ballard and Owens.

Each time Issac converted his shots in the lane to give Woodlawn a 53-47 spread.

“Trey Issac off the bench gave us some really good minutes. He hit a big three for us and finished around the basket when they (Gibault) were cheating off of him. We found him a couple of times,” said Coach Witzel.

The Hawks saw their record fall to 15-8 on the season as Coach Dennis Rueter's club had just one lead in the game at 2-0 just seconds into the contest.

Six-foot-five senior center Brian Deterding was tough to handle for Woodlawn, as he commanded the inside on both ends of the floor as he netted a game-high 20-points while corralling 13-rebounds.

Trevor Davis, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, added 17-points and six-rebounds in the loss.

Woodlawn (19-1) finished the game 22-of-42 overall (52.4 percent) and converted 11-of-14 from the line.

Throughout the match up, the physical Hawks tried to muscle their way around the lane and Deterding and Davis did most of the damage.

Deterding netted eight of his points in the opening quarter, including a basket to begin the game to give Gibault its only short-lived lead.

In fact he scored the first four baskets of the game for his team, but they still trailed 9-8 in the early going.

Owens scored seven of his points in the first quarter and Harris added five.

Both of them hit 3-point shots in the frame and each netted shots that closed the quarter at 20-14 Woodlawn.

Owens picked up a steal and fast break lay in while Harris scored from just right of the circle for the six-point advantage.

The Cardinals biggest lead of the game came in the second quarter as they went up 28-20 when Ballard, Wollerman and Owens each collected points.

Owens canned his second long-range bomb that forced a Gibault timeout with 3:19 left before intermission.

Gibault did cut into the lead before the half with Davis getting a steal and fast break slam and senior guard Jacob Rueter hitting a 3-pointer to cut it to 30-25 at the break.

Woodlawn got the lead back up to eight points in the third quarter on the strength of a conventional three-point play by Wollerman and six-points in the stanza by Ballard.

When Harris again nailed an open shot from the top of the arc, the Cards led 43-35.

Again Gibault closed the gap before the quarter ended with Deterding scoring on a put-back and Davis making another steal for a fast-break slam to make it a four-point spread heading to the fourth.

This was the beginning of the only real Hawks rally, as they scored eight straight points to even the game for the only time.

Deterding and forward Colin Kessler each scored on drives to the basket to cap the rally at 43-43 with lots of time remaining.

But Owens added another 3-pointer before Issac converted his two big baskets.

Woodlawn made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Gibault went just 21-of-53 overall and just 4-of-21 from beyond the 3-point line.

The Hawks held a 25-24 rebounding edge and Deterding grabbed five of the seven offensive boards.

“They (Gibault) do a good job defensively and are always well prepared. I felt like we ran some really good sets in the first half and down the stretch we did a lot of things correctly,” said Coach Witzel. “They were creating a lot of pressure and they made some shots going to the offensive glass. It was a battle inside. They have some nice players and they can really hurt you inside.”

Webber Township (60) – Johnson 4 0 0-0 8, Stratton 2 2 0-0 10, Hammer 3 0 1-2 7, Neal 7 0 6-7 20, Helm 3 1 1-1 10, Hart 0 1 0-0 3, Mount 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-20, 3FG-4, FT-8-10, PF-18.
Goreville (62) – Glidewell 5 1 2-3 15, Dunn 6 0 2-2 14, Vaughn 0 2 2-3 8, Webb 4 2 5-9 19, Massey 0 0 2-2, Troop 1 0 0-0 2, Helton 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-17, 3FG-5, FT-13-19, PF-14.
Fouled Out – Helm - Webber Township.
Technical Fouls – Cahokia Bench.

BREESE MATER DEI 55, JERSEYVILLE 53 (2OT)
Jordan Kampwerth scored 17-points in the Knights' win, including the game winner at the buzzer for the double-overtime victory for BMD.

His tip-in while falling to the floor capped a hard-earned win for Coach Ron Schdegg's club that are now 16-5 on the season.

Senior guard Nick Pollman tossed in eight-points for the Knights as they rebounded from a loss on the road on Friday night at Teutopolis with a key victory over fellow 3A team Jerseyville.

Mater Dei could have ended the game much sooner but they squandered many chances to win the game in regulation by going just 18-of-32 from the foul line.

The Panthers (10-12) were led by 6-foot-6 senior center Drake Kanallakan with 23-points and six-rebounds.

Jerseyville also got 11-markers from Zac Ridenhour, a 6-foot-2 senior.

Breese Mater Dei (55) – Langenhorst 2 0 0-0 4, Boeckmann 0 1 0-0 3, Kampwerth 7 0 3-4 17, Pollmann 3 0 2-2 8, Theising 1 0 3-4 5, Timmermann 0 0 1-6 1, Broeckling 0 0 0-0 0, Heimann 2 0 2-2 6, Toennies 2 0 0-0 4, Winter 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-17, 3FG-1, FT-18-32, PF-22.
Jerseyville (53) – Kanallakan 4 3 6-6 23, Witt 0 1 0-0 3, J. Ridenhour 1 1 1-4 6, Wittman 2 1 1-2 8, Z. Ridenhour 2 2 1-3 11, Hall 0 0 0-0 0, Ross 0 0 0-0 0, Goldacker 0 0 1-2 1, Shaw 0 0 1-2 1.
2FG-9, 3FG-8, FT-11-19, PF-23.
Fouled Out – Theising - Breese Mater Dei; J. Ridenhour - Jerseyville.
Technical Fouls – None.

Cahokia (11-12) were led by 22-points from senior Chris McRoberts and 21-points from 6-foot-6 junior Thomas Bell.

The Knights saw their mark slip to 21-5 overall with 13-points from Kenrique Brown, 11-points from Noah Coddington and 10-points from Branden Woosley.

Cahokia pressured the normally sure-handed Knights into a astounding 23-turnovers in the rout.

Both McRoberts and Bell each grabbed eight-rebounds in an effort that produced a 28-20 advantage for the Comanches.

Metro-East Lutheran (40) – Woosley 3 0 4-6 10, Coddington 4 1 0-0 11, Risavy 1 0 2-3 4, Brown 5 1 0-0 13, Johnson 1 0 0-0 2, Brooks 0 0 0-0 0, Niemeier 0 0 0-0 0, Bozarth 0 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0 0-0 0, Culbert 0 0 0-0 0, Shimkus 0 0 0-0 0, Schroader 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-14, 3FG-2, FT-6-9, PF-10.
Cahokia (69) – McRoberts 8 1 3-3 22, M. Johnson 1 0 2-2 4, Bell 8 1 2-2 21, Gully 1 0 0-0 2, Rice 1 0 0-0 , Crumble 0 1 0-0 3, Davis 2 1 0-0 7, Basquine 0 0 0-0 0, D. Johnson 1 0 0-0 , Aaron 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-25, 3FG-4, FT-7-8, PF-7.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

MT. CARMEL 59, MADISON 45
The Golden Aces pulled away in the second half for the victory as they improved to 14-10 on the campaign.

Coach Tyler Buss' club used their size to their advantage as they received 22-points and 12-rebounds from 6-foot-8 sophomore Jackson Marcotte and 24-points and six-rebounds from 6-foot-8 junior forward Justin Carpenter in the victory.

Despite going 1-of-14 from beyond the 3-point line, Mt. Carmel pulled away from the Trojans.

Coach Jaime Cotto's team got a game-high 29-points from senior guard Shamond Moore.

Mt. Carmel outrebounded Madison 31-21 while forcing 14-turnovers.

Madison (45) – Gordon 0 1 0-0 3, Kennedy 0 0 4-4 4, Stanley 0 0 2-4 2, Moore 8 4 1-2 29, Glasper 0 0 0-0 0, Radford 1 1 0-0 5, Watson 1 0 0-0 2, Wooten 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-10, 3FG-6, FT-7-10, PF-16.
Mt. Carmel (59) – Rager 2 0 0-3 4, Berberich 0 0 0-0 0, Marcotte 7 0 8-9 22, Stipp 1 0 0-0 2, Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Spear 1 0 0-1 2, Golden 0 0 0-0 0, Doan 0 1 0-0 3, Carpenter 11 0 2-3 24.
2FG-23, 3FG-1, FT-10-16, PF-9.
Fouled Out – Gordon - Madison.
Technical Fouls – None.

Daniel Valentine paced the Bobcats (14-11) with 18-points and 13-rebounds and sophomore Darnell Lowe added 12.

The Warriors (14-8) got 14-points from Nic Hagel, 13-points from Dusty Sutton and 11-points from Trey Lazenby in the loss.

Coach Bryce Bainter's team hit just 7-of-25 shots from the 3-point arc and 21-of-53 overall (39.6 percent) in the defeat.

Coach Erik Griffin saw his club commit 16-turnovers but they overcame that by outrebounding the Warriors 43-18, including 20-offensive boards.

Steeleville (60) – Hagel 4 2 0-1 14, Smith 1 0 2-3 4, Lazenby 4 0 3-3 11, Sutton 1 3 2-2 13, Lutz 3 0 2-3 8, Ebers 0 0 0-0 0, Pim 0 0 0-0 0, Grafton 0 2 0-0 6, Frederking 1 0 2-2 4.
2FG-14, 3FG-7, FT-11-14, PF-12.
Meridian (62) – Nesby 4 0 0-0 8, Nicholson 1 0 0-0 2, Valentine 7 0 4-6 18, Lowe 5 0 2-3 12, Patrick 1 1 0-0 5, Nichols 0 3 0-0 9, Jeter 0 1 0-0 3, White 0 0 0-0 0, Robertson 1 1 0-0 5.
2FG-19, 3FG-6, FT-6-9, PF-14.
Fouled Out – Hagel - Steeleville.
Technical Fouls – None.

Coach Andrew Wilson Trico club was led by Grant Kelly with 19-points.

Jake Compton and Trent Koch each netted 11-points for the 11-11 Pioneers.

Salem was led by Adam Bunnell with 15-points while Cole Steward pitched in 14.

Trico outscored the Wildcats 12-2 from the foul line.

Trico (66) – Kelley 6 1 4-4 19, Ja. Compton 3 1 2-4 11, Koch 5 0 1-1 11, Jarrett 0 1 0-0 3, Jo. Compton 2 0 1-2 5, Bauersachs 5 0 3-5 13, Theis 0 0 0-0 0, Vogt 0 0 0-0 0, Meyerhoff 0 1 1-2 4.
2FG-21, 3FG-4, FT-12-18, PF-13.
Salem (60) – Brooks 0 1 0-0 3, Steward 7 0 0-0 14, Reid 1 0 0-0 2, Boles 5 0 2-4 12, Bunnell 6 1 0-0 15, Phillips 0 0 0-1 0, Linder 2 1 0-0 7, Crosby 2 1 0-0 7, Watkins 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-23, 3FG-4, FT-2-5, PF-18.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.