Game 106: Sesser-Valier vs. Pinckneyville (Boy's Basketball)

Game 106
Sesser-Valier vs. Pinckneyville (Boy's Basketball)
Benton Invitational Tournament
(1/19/11)

Of the six games that I was going to see in southern Illinois, the matchup between the Panthers and Red Devils was the game I was most excited to see.

Sesser-Valier played for a Class 1A state championship last year, but lost a lot to graduation.  Pinckneyville is Pinckneyville, and always has a strong program, however they are a little down when comparing to past teams.  Sesser Valier entered the game with a 13-3 record, while Pinckneyville has an 11-5 record.  Over the weekend, the Panthers had knocked off Class 2A top-ranked Teutopolis.

Pinckneyville jumped out to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter.  Kyle Lamb (6'7" Sr.) scored 6 points in the first eight minutes, and finished with 12 points.  He was named to the All-Tournament a year ago in the B.I.T.  Hunter Queen (5'10" Jr.) scored 5 points in the first quarter, enroute to an 11 point game.

By halftime, the Panthers took a 29-14 lead, and kept pace throughout the third quarter, taking a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, 41-24.  That's when the Red Devils made a flurry in the fourth quarter.  Sesser-Valier rode the hot hand of Dustin Hicks (6'1" Sr.), who scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone, and pulled the Red Devils as close as two points.  The Panthers held off the late charge, and won 54-48.

Hicks finished with 28 points, a game-high.  Drew Dorris added 10 points for the Red Devils, who dropped to 13-4 on the year.  Steve Brueggeman (6'3" Sr.) led the Panthers with 17 points.  Pinckneyville went 14-17 from the free throw line, and commited 18 turnovers.  Seven of those turnovers were committed in the first quarter, none in the second quarter, and the Panthers first turnover of the second half didn't occur until the 3:35 mark of the 3rd quarter.  Sesser-Valier finished with 15 turnovers, and went 9-11 from the charity stripe.

After the game, I made a trip downstairs to the hospitality room.  At first, I was the only one in the room, and I had a pulled pork sandwich and some cherry cheesecake.  Later, I met a fellow IHSS'er, from the Illinois High School Sports message boards, Ristes.  We talked for a few minutes, and both complimented the cherry cheesecake.  I topped my hospitality dinner off with a Pepsi (no water in the room), and headed back to broadcast the final game of the night.

Game 106 Miles: 0
Game 106 Calories:  Probably close to 1,000 hospitality room calories