 (CONTINUED)
Harvel
ended the second quarter scoring drought with a drive in the
lane but a 3-pointer by Bauersachs and a spin move in the paint
by Konkel beat the second quarter buzzer as Pinckneyville went
to the break up 34-25.
Keith,
who had just six-points at intermission, started the second
half scoring for Pinckneyville.
He
hit on a driving bank shot and added a 3-pointer from the left
wing.
Keith
also turned a steal into a fast break one-handed slam which
was followed by Konkel converting another transition score.
Two
free throws by sophomore forward Ty Laur closed a 12-2 second
half beginning run for a 46-27 Panthers' lead with 3:57 left
in the third quarter.
Keith
closed the third quarter scoring for Pinckneyville with a bucket
off of a baseline drive as the Panthers we in charge at 53-33.
“When
Smith and Bauersachs are hitting shots they're pretty good and
Keith can go get a bucket when he wants to. They do a lot of
really good things,” said Coach Chamness. “I knew
we would have to play really well to win tonight. We played
well tonight, just not well enough.”
Many
teams at this point would have folded up the tents but Anna-Jonesboro
didn't as they managed to cut the deficit down in the fourth
quarter.
Hodges
converted a convention three-point play while being fouled by
Konkel.
Harvel
and Page each knocked down 3-pointers and senior forward JJ
Gerardi scored on the inside.
“Dylan
(Havel) has been a dream to have for the last four years. He's
an every day guy, works hard and is a special leader,”
said Coach Chamness. “Cavins has shown his growth as a
player this year has been great. He's turned himself into a
really good player.”
Nevertheless,
Pinckneyville closed out the game from the foul line, hitting
8-of-11 from the line in the final frame with Keith going 5-of-7
as the Panthers closed out the conference win and will head
into their own holiday tournament having won two-straight games
at home on back-to-back nights.
 Pinckneyville
beat Waterloo Gibault (56-35) on Thursday night at Duster Thomas
Gym.
“We
got guys who can do a little bit of everything. We always talk
about it. We have a championship mindset. We have goals like
any team and one of those goals is to win a conference championship,”
said Coach Laur. “The only way you can assure yourself
that conference championship, when it is in your hands, is you
win every ballgame.”
After
the early success in the game shooting the ball, A-J leveled
off.
The
Wildcats were 16-of-36 (44 percent) and were just 5-of-21 (23.8
percent) from the 3-point line.
Anna-Jonesboro
did hang with the Panthers on the glass, getting out-rebounded
just 21-20 overall.
However
seven of the Wildcats' 12 turnovers came in the middle two quarters
which didn't help the cause.
The
Panthers ended up 22-of-39 (56.4 percent) from the field, 5-of-10
from long range for Coach Laur, who is in his first season leading
the tradition rich program.
Anna-Jonesboro
heads into the Eldorado Holiday Tournament next week with three-consecutive
losses (Benton, Massac County, Pinckneyville) to teams that
are a combined 28-5.
A-J,
the sixth-seed, will face the host Eagles on the first night
on December 26th at 7 pm.
The
Panthers will face Trico in the opening night at the Duster
Thomas Hoops' Classic on December 27th at 7 pm.
“We
feel like we're going in the right direction. Our record doesn't
really show how good we are. We took Nashville into overtime
and we were up on Massac heading into the fourth quarter on
Saturday,” said Coach Chamness. “We just have to
get over that hump. Once we win a game like this it will just
build our confidence.”
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12/22/2023