12-21-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
PINCKNEYVILLE – In a defensive contest where every possession mattered, it was the Nashville Hornets who made the most of each chance.

On this night it was a kid named “Chance” who got the job done the best.

Nashville's 6-foot senior guard Chance Reuter hit the big shots when they counted, including a pair of buckets in the pivotal fourth quarter as the Hornets improved to 3-0 in the SIRR Mississippi Division with a 41-34 defensive win on the road at rival Pinckneyville on Friday night.

Reuter led all scorers in the contest with 16-points as first place Nashville will head into next week's Breese Mater Dei Holiday Tournament with a 7-2 overall mark.

Six-foot-six freshman forward Royce Newman added 13-points on the night, including five-consecutive points to close the third quarter as Nashville took command.

Pinckneyville (5-5 overall, 1-2 in the SIRR MD) was led by 11-points from Chris Priebe and nine points from Dylan Hardin.

“Anytime Nashville and Pinckneyville get together it is going to be a hard-nosed game. It was a very physical game tonight and both teams played extremely hard,” said Nashville head coach Brad Weathers. “Points were very hard to come by. I think that the thing that probably saved us tonight was we were able to guard them to the point where they didn't outscore us. Because we sure had a hard time scoring ourselves.”

The Panthers stayed close, despite not shooting the ball well, in a game where there were few chances to shine.

Defensive struggles are nothing new to this rivalry and Pinckneyville didn't hit enough shots to find a way to win.

The Panthers were just 13-of-37 overall and hit just 2-of-10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Coach Bob Waggoner's team got off to a good start, getting a 5-0 lead when Priebe and sophomore guard Tristan Fisher netted shots in the early going.

The 5-0 lead turned out to be the largest margin by either team until the end of the third quarter.

Dylan Hardin, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, got the Panthers a couple of key baskets at the end of the first half.

His conventional three-point play on a spin move in the lane while being fouled by Nashville's Scott Brown and a 17-footer from near the foul line gave the Panthers a 16-15 lead with 1:37 left before intermission.

Devin Holle of Nashville scored on a fast break after a Pinckneyville turnover to close the low scoring half at 17-16 Hornets.

In spite of nine first half turnovers, the Hornets had a one-point halftime lead.

Newman scored seven points in the third quarter, with Nashville finally getting the ball inside.

His three baskets, all within a couple of feet of the goal, got the Hornets a 27-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We didn't get them (Newman and Holle) the ball as much as we would have liked but you have to credit Pinckneyville's defense," added Coach Weathers. "They were right up in us. Not having a true point guard sometimes makes it more difficult but we eventually adjusted.”

Reuter's runner in the lane with 4:20 remaining pushed the Hornets advantage to 29-23.

The final push by the Panthers in the fourth quarter came up short.

Pinckneyville senior guard Luke Miller scored five points in the second half and his three-point play with 3:14 to go cut the Hornets lead to 31-29.

However Nashville closed out the win with Reuter, Newman and junior guard Keegan Anderson combining to hit 6-of-8 free throws.

“When you play quality teams we tell the kids it is a game of possessions. You can't give up lay ups and you can't have unforced turnovers. You have to make free throws and tonight Nashville did a better job of doing those things,” said Pinckneyville mentor Bob Waggoner. “I was very pleased with our effort. With a team as experienced as they are compared to us, we had ourselves in a position to win. They just made a few more plays down the stretch than we did.”

Coach Brad Weathers' team survived the battle by hitting 15-of-29 shots from the floor.

Rebounding chances were scarce in this contest, with Pinckneyville holding a slight 15-14 edge.

But the Panthers didn't get a fourth quarter offensive rebound until the final moments of the game.

“They (Nashville) are a big, physically strong team and their size is something you really can't prepare for,” added Coach Waggoner. “Their big guys are strong.”

Nashville heads back into action next week at the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament with a first round game against rival Breese Central.

Pinckneyville plays host to 3A Waterloo on Saturday night before hosting their own Duster Thomas Hoops Classic next week.

Nashville (41) – Reuter 4 2 2-2 16, Brown 2 0 0-0 4, Thorson 0 0 0-2 0, Jasper 0 0 0-0 0, Anderson 1 0 4-7 6, Styninger 0 0 0-0 0, Pedtke 0 0 0-0 0, Beetley 0 0 0-0 0, Holle 1 0 0-0 2, Newman 5 0 3-6 13, Johannes 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-13, 3FG-2, FT-9-17, PF-9.
Pinckneyville (34) – Ruffino 1 0 0-0 2, Hardin 2 1 2-3 9, Edwards 0 0 2-2 2, Luke 0 0 0-0 0, Miller 2 0 1-1 5, Fisher 2 0 0-2 4, Lazenby 0 0 0-0 0, Dahn 0 0 1-2 1, Bejma 0 0 0-0 0, Priebe 4 1 0-0 11.
2FG-11 3FG-2, FT-6-10, PF-18.
Fouled Out – Miller - Pinckneyville.
Technical Fouls – None.