BOYS BASKETBALL: Warriors end PJHS's unbeaten streak

Many fans thought the first meeting between Du Quoin and Pinckneyville's eighth grade boys basketball teams might have ended differently had the Warriors' 6'5 Lomontay Daughtery been able to stay on the floor rather than fouling out. The Junior Panthers used a 17-0 run after Daughtery's fifth personal to take a win home from DMS back on December 1.
On Thursday night in Pinckneyville, Daughtery not only stayed on the floor for the entire game, but he was at his best. Daughtery finished the game with 25 points and 7 blocked shots, helping lead the Warriors to a 50-42 victory that ended PJHS's unbeaten streak at 18 games.
"When he's out there, he's a difference-maker," DMS head coach Aaron Wright said of his big man. "Defensively he alters shots. When he's active and gets to the rim to rebound it's hard to guard him, it's hard to box him out. Really as a team I thought we played pretty good around him."
PJHS head coach Haven Hicks agreed that Daughtery was a major force in the game, and a tough matchup for not only his team, but any team.
"Anytime you've got a 6'5 kid in the paint, even when he's not guarding you he's affecting shots," said Hicks. "We had a few shots tonight that he was nowhere around but we were looking for him. It's really a good thing for us because I don't think there will be a better athlete his size that we'll play against. He's a good shooter, you can't just lay behind and make him shoot over you. You can't front him because he can handle the ball too. He's a nice player."
While it was Daughtery that put up the big numbers and thrilled the crowd with some emphatic shot blocking, it was Du Quoin's perimeter shooters that wound up making, perhaps, the biggest difference in the game.
After a 12-12 opening quarter, the Warriors poured in 5 three-pointers in the second - two apiece from Braeden Pursell and Brian Winters, another from Kadin Mays - to get DMS a lead they never let go of.
"When they have that much size, we really preached this week in practice to make their shots come from the arc," said Hicks. "For the most part they did, and they made the shots we wanted them to take. You've got to tip your hat to them, they just kept pouring them in. When they've got such a force inside with Daughtery and Pursell, you can not give up the lane. I tried to play the odds a little bit, but they shot the ball well, they were hot."
The hot shooting was a bit of a surprise to Wright, whose team was coming off a three-week break since their last game on December 17.
"I thought we were going to be a little rusty," Wright said. "I thought our legs were going to get a little tired, but really I didn't see any signs of that. We were fortunate to make those threes, that really propelled us and got us a lead that we hung on to."
"We really had three good practices this week. We ran a lot, we tried to get our legs back, tried to have competitive practices. We tried to simulate some games so we could try to match the intensity with Pinckneyville."
DMS led 33-24 at the half, and didn't let the Junior Panthers get any closer than 7 the rest of the way. The only big scare the Warriors got after the break was when Daughtery picked up his third foul with 4:16 to go in the third quarter, but he wouldn't be whistled again. With PJHS down 49-42 with just under a minute to go, Daughtery sealed the deal with a steal on the defensive end.
"I thought Pinckneyville was settling a little bit for jump shots, which I was pleased with," Wright said. "I wanted us to overplay the three because they've got a couple shooters, and we did, and they didn't really dribble drive like I thought they would."
Hicks said he hopes his team can use Thursday's loss as a learning experience.
"I thought we maybe should have shot-faked a few times and went to the rack, but they're 12, 13, 14-year old kids. They'll learn that," Hicks said. "We got nervous, we panicked a little bit. We didn't really know what to do because we haven't been there, so it was a good experience for us."
Pursell joined Daughtery in double figures with 10 points for the Warriors, who played without injured starter Alex Zimmerman. Winters added 8 points, Jacob Green had 4 and Mays 3.
For the Panthers, Dawson Yates had a team-high 15 points, Hunter Riggins added 11, Devin Kitchen 10 and Dalton Kitchen 6.
PJHS (18-1) still controls their own destiny in their quest for a conference title with a one-game lead over DMS. The Junior Panthers host Chester on Monday and Okawville next Wednesday.
DMS (12-2) has now won six straight games and can avenge their other loss this season on Monday at Sparta. They'll host Murphysboro next Thursday.