Panthers wrap home season with two wins
After reaching the milestone 500th win for Coach Bob Waggoner on Tuesday, the Panthers went to work and earned #501 and #502 with home wins over Anna-Jonesboro on Friday night and Woodlawn on Saturday afternoon.
<b>Panthers 59, Anna-Jonesboro 27</b>
The Panthers' trademark, clamp-down defense played a significant role in each game. On Friday, the Panthers shut out the Wildcats in the 2nd quarter, turning a 15-9 first quarter advantage into a 26-9 halftime lead.
They kept the heat on for a 23-11 3rd with Dré Scott scoring 10, before grabbing the 30-point advantage to force a running clock in the 4th, closing out the 59-27 win.
Scott was the only Panther scoring in double figures with 14, sophomore Kellen Scott and junior Duke Riggins followed with 9 each, and senior Ben Restoff added 7, among 10 Panthers in the scoring column.
<b>Panthers 62, Woodlawn 31</b>
On Saturday afternoon, the quick turnaround for the Panthers against a similar, defense-oriented Woodlawn team yielded a 24-19 1st half start for Pinckneyville.
The Panthers' defense and hot 3-point shooting - 10 threes for the game, wore down the Cardinals in the second half, outscoring Woodlawn by 10 in the 3rd quarter, then finishing with a 21-5 4th to a final of 62-31.
Junior Duke Riggins had the hot hand for the Panthers, leading with 15 points on 5 3-pointers, followed by senior Dré Scott and sophomore Kellen Scott with 13 each.
After the game, Coach Waggoner gave credit to his senior leaders Scott and Ben Restoff as the team has wrapped up their shortened season with strong, consistent play.
<i> The Panthers close out the season at Nashville Tuesday night.</i>