Du Quoin Grabs Early Braggin' Rights
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Seth Flint's conventional three-point play with 80 seconds remaining proved to be the difference Friday night as Du Quoin drew first blood in the 2008-2009 renewal of Perry County's "Battle of the Beaucoup."
Flint, who finished with a season-high 13 points, converted the basket off Matt Gossett's post feed, pushing the Indians ahead by two and drawing a foul. He converted the free throw, accounting for the final 49-46 margin.
The Indians, 5-2 overall, improved to 2-0 within River-to-River Conference play and visit Mississippi Division co-leader Nashville Tuesday night.
Pinckneyville (4-2, 0-2) hosts Herrin Saturday and has lost two straight after opening the season with four consecutive wins.
"I am very proud of our effort and how we just kind of gutted things out down the stretch," Du Quoin coach Mike Crews said. "We finished the game better and were much more proactive and aggressive. That's something we've struggled with quite a bit this season."
After surrendering late game leads in losses to Harrisburg and Waltonville, Du Quoin did just enough in keeping Pinckneyville at bay.
Flint's block of a last second three-pointer in the far right corner by Bryant Lively secured the win as the final buzzer sounded.
The brutally-physical game included 47 fouls-32 on the Panthers-and a combined 33 turnovers.
"The effort was very good and our kids played and competed hard," Pinckneyville coach Bob Waggoner said. "We were in a tough situation because of the fouls and still had a chance to win the game. Du Quoin's always going to be very physical and I thought we stood up to that pretty well."
Pinckneyville was certainly the aggressor early, limiting the Indians to just one field goal in a sluggish first quarter. The Panthers led 8-5 and were in front until the final moments of the half.
Dalton Morgan (13 points, eight rebounds) put Du Quoin on top for the first time, turning his own missed free throw into an easy hoop.
Flint then added two foul shots, giving the Indians a 20-16 edge.
"We were so lethargic out of the gates and just had no kind of offensive flow," Crews said. "Of course, Pinckneyville's defense had a lot to do with that but I just felt like we stood around way too much."
Pinckneyville stormed back as the third quarter began, ripping off an early 8-0 run. Dustin Winter (22 points, six three-pointers) connected twice from long range and Nathan Morton scored on the baseline as the Panthers pushed ahead.
Pinckneyville's lead reached 33-25 late in the quarter before Du Quoin caught fire. Matt Gossett's three pulled the Tribe within 33-30 and a rebound hoop from Jamor Reed cut the margin to 35-34 as the quarter ended.
In the fourth period, the lead would change seven times during an eight-minute span.
Morgan's nifty move in the post knotted things at 45-45 with three minutes left.
A half-minute later, Lively's free throw gave Pinckneyville its final edge at 46-45. A foul toss by Morgan with 1:54 left produced the last tie and the squads traded turnovers before Gossett found Flint cutting towards the basket. The hoop and free throw came with 1:20 to go and neither team would score again.
Du Quoin missed four foul shots and survived three turnovers in the waning moments. Pinckneyville also committed three giveaways and had several decent looks at the basket.
"Our ball press was pretty effective in the second half and Jamor (Reed) and Goose (Gossett) really energized us defensively," Crews said. "I felt like the pressure and physical play wore them down just enough to get us a few turnovers."
Morgan and Flint topped Du Quoin with their 13-point efforts.
Gossett, playing on a badly sprained ankle, added 11 points-all in the second half. A.J. Hill added seven points and six boards.
Winter was the lone Panther in double-digits, throwing in a game-high 22. Lively added eight.
"I expected to win and our kids expected to win," Waggoner said. "We came into a hostile environment against a good team and still had a chance to win in the end. Things just didn't go our way."
Pinckneyville hosts Herrin Saturday in its final game prior to the Christmas break.
Du Quoin stayed unbeaten at the junior varsity level Friday, rolling past Pinckneyville 58-41. The young Indians (3-0) were led by David Rose's 23 points.
Du Quoin 49, Pinckneyville 46
Du Quoin (5-2, 2-0): Flint 3 7-7 13, Youngman 0 0-0 0, Clarry 0 1-2 1, Reed 2 0-0 4, Hill 1 5-7 7, Morgan 4 5-10 13, Davis 0 0-0 0, Gossett 3 2-2 11, Schneider 0 0-0 0. Total 13 (3) 20-30 49.
Pinckneyville (4-2, 0-2): Winter 8 0-0 22, Lively 3 2-3 8, Sims 1 0-0 2, Morton 1 2-2 4, S. Kellerman 0 2-4 2, Bathon 0 0-0 0, Lamb 1 0-0 2, Pyatt 2 0-2 4, D. Kellerman 1 0-0 2, Chandler 0 0-0 0. Total 17 (6) 6-11 46.
Du Quoin 5 15 14 15-49
Pinckneyville 8 8 19 11-46
Three-pointers: Du Quoin 3-10 (Gossett 3), Pinckneyville 6-12 (Winter 6). Team fouls: Du Quoin 15, Pinckneyville 32. Fouled out: Sims.
Junior Varsity
Du Quoin 58, Pinckneyville 41
Du Quoin (3-0, 2-0): D. Rose 23, Davis 5, Clarry 4, Baxter 5, Schneider 4, S. Gossett 8, C. Rose 9.
Pinckneyville: Shute 7, Queen 2, Chandler 5, Bathon 2, Farthing 4, Shopinski 5, Brueggeman 6, Lamb 10.
Du Quoin 13 14 11 20-58
Pinckneyville 9 12 8 12-41
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