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Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2010
|=20Panthers pounce on Tigers for third time
Defeat Edwardsville in sectional semis = 55-51
- =
Progress Staff Writer
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The O=92Fallon basketball Panthers have made a habit of beating the = odds all=20 season long. From the first time they stepped onto the court last = November as a=20 relative unknown commodity hoping to improve on a .500 record from the = previous=20 hoop campaign, Coach Rick Gibson=92s charges have answered virtually = every=20 challenge.
Tuesday night was no exception as they faced conference foe = Edwardsville for=20 a third time. This matchup had a bit more at stake, however, as they = were facing=20 each other in the IHSA sectional semi-finals.
Bucking the sports maxim that it is difficult to beat a good team = three times=20 in the same season, the Panthers, inspired by a superb individual effort = from=20 junior Roosevelt Jones, survived their test, defeating the arch-rival = Tigers=20 55-51 at Belleville East to advance to this Friday=92s sectional = championship game=20 in Pekin against the winner of the Normal =96 East Moline United = Township contest=20 which was to be played on Wednesday evening.
Edwardsville did not fade into the night meekly. Sparked by early = from Austin=20 Peay bound Will Triggs and two 3-point bombs by their other top scorer = Brendan=20 Wheeler, the Tigers jumped to an early 14-7 first period lead.
=93We started slowly, but our kids really turned up the intensity in = the second=20 period,=94 Gibson said. =93This was just an excellent all-around effort = by our team.=20 Beating Edwardsville three times in the same season is a great = accomplishment.=20 They are a good team, and Coach Waldo does an outstanding job preparing = them for=20 a game. Every one of our kids contributed in order for us to complete = the=20 sweep.=94
The sluggish start offensively was rectified in the second quarter as = O=92Fallon out-scored their SWC rivals 16-6. Included in the reversal of = form was=20 an 11-2 run to close out the quarter, giving the Panthers a 23-20 = halftime=20 advantage.
During the run, Jones was dominant, hitting for eight points and = collecting=20 seven rebounds. The talented OTHS cager finished the game with 25 points = and 13=20 rebounds.
Also contributing to the O=92Fallon spurt was an increase in = defensive=20 pressure. Double-teaming Triggs in the post and applying more heat on = the=20 perimeter, O=92Fallon allowed Edwardsville only six second quarter = points.
=93We knew that we needed to stop Triggs and Wheeler to improve our = chances of=20 winning the game,=94 Gibson explained. =93They have good shooters, so we = knew they=20 would be tough in the early going. We wanted to continue to apply the = pressure=20 and wear them down. Our players executed our defensive game plan = flawlessly.=20 After a while the shots they were hitting in the early stages of the = game=20 weren=92t going in the basket.=94
In the third period, the slim three point halftime advantage = ballooned to=20 seven, 37-30. An additional offensive spurt was provided by = O=92Fallon=92s guard=20 tandem of Josh Buie and Roy Bullock.
Held scoreless in the first half, the Panthers=92 =93secret = weapons=94 came off the=20 bench to nail two critical 3-point baskets midway in the frame to help = O=92Fallon=20 regain offensive momentum.
=93Our two guards have been coming off the bench to give us major = minutes=20 throughout the season,=94 Gibson said. =93They could be starting for a = lot of teams=20 in the area, but they have accepted their roles on our team and have = done a=20 superb job. Tonight=92s game was just one example of what they have done = for us =96=20 on both ends of the court.=94
The double whammy applied by Buie and Bullock came with 3:50 = remaining in the=20 third quarter after Edwardsville had narrowed the Panther lead to just = two=20 points. Buie=92s bomb came first, extended O=92Fallon=92s advantage to = five points,=20 and Bullock followed suit after an O=92Fallon steal to put the Panthers=20 comfortably back in control.
The game was made more interesting than it needed to be in the final = stanza=20 thanks to O=92Fallon=92s old nemesis, the charity stripe. Cruising with = a 14-point=20 advantage with a little over four minutes remaining in the game, = Edwardsville=20 employed the tactic used by Belleville West in the regional final.
A series of fouls sent OTHS players to the free throw =97 usually = with=20 unimpressive results. O=92Fallon was 13-for-27 from the line during the = game with=20 a series of those misfires coming in the final three minutes.
Edwardsville took advantage of O=92Fallon=92s ineptness, cutting the = lead to four=20 points before Chevaughn Lawrence finally nailed a pair of free tosses = with 16=20 seconds to play to gift wrap the sectional victory.
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