For the third time this season, SIRR Mississippi rivals Pinckneyville and Sparta will do battle—this time, however, a regional title is on the line.
The top two seeds of the Chester 2A Regional advanced to Friday night’s championship game, but the road wasn’t easy for either squad.
Pinckneyville used a fourth quarter surge to pull past Chester Monday night, while Sparta hit some clutch free throws late to edge Red Bud Tuesday night.
Sparta 65
Red Bud 60
With sweat dripping off his face and hostile fans yelling and chanting behind him, Sparta sophomore Austin Peck hit two clutch free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining in the game to seal the 65-60 win for the Bulldogs over Red Bud Tuesday night in the Chester 2A Regional semifinals.
“We knew it would be a dog fight,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “We almost played not to lose in the second half, but we fought on and we survived. I am really happy for the kids to be in a regional championship game.”
The game was a battle right from the start as the first quarter saw seven lead changes between the two Randolph County teams.
Maurice Austin and Dartanus White each scored eight points in the opening quarter to help spark a 6-0 scoring run to end the frame with a 19-15 lead.
Adam Kunkel, playing in his first game in two weeks after suffering a bone bruise, scored five points in the first for Red Bud, while Kory Liefer added four.
The Musketeer offense struggled shooting the ball in the second quarter, making just 5-of-15 shots as the Bulldogs outscored them 13-10 in the period.
Sparta finished the first half with a 9-2 run to break away from a 23-23 tie for a 32-25 halftime lead. London Oliver led the Bulldogs offense in the frame, scoring five points, while David Sams added four.
Stefan Gregson paced the Red Bud offense in the second quarter with four points.
Sams hit two big three-pointers and Oliver tossed in five points to help push Sparta’s lead up to 12 points in the third quarter, 47-35.
After a technical foul was called on Peck and two other players had to be separated when tempers began to flare, the Musketeers finished off the quarter with a 7-1 run to trail just 48-42 heading into the final quarter.
Jake Hoffman had six points in the frame, while Gregson added five.
Three-pointers from Sams and Blake Shelton, along with a layup from White, allowed the Dawgs to recapture a double digit lead, 56-46, with 3:38 remaining in the game.
The large lead wouldn’t last long, as Red Bud answered with a 10-1 to cut the deficit to one point, 57-56 with 1:22 left in the contest.
The Musketeers had several chances down the stretch to either tie the game or take the lead, but four costly turnovers allowed Sparta to hang on to the lead and hit the clutch free throws at the end to win it.
“We really had good balance offensively tonight,” added Williams. “Our young guys, Kiefer, Peck and Morgan stepped up and gave us good minutes, and everyone who played did a good job. I am just so proud of how resilient these kids are. We are outsized every game we play, and they continue to fight and claw. My coaching staff did a great job preparing the team for tonight, and we had great fan support.”
Sams led the Sparta offense with 19 points, while White had 13, Austin finished with 12 and Oliver added 10.
Kunkel finished with 17 points to pace the Red Bud attack, while Hoffman had 14, Liefer added 13 and Gregson tossed in 11.
Sparta, the regional two seed, will face the top seeded Pinckneyville Panthers Friday night at 7:30.
“We are looking forward to facing Pinckneyville,” said Williams. “We aren’t just going to show up, we are in it to win it. We need good fan support, because Pinckneyville will bring an army.”
Pinckneyville 74
Chester 53
For the second time in under three days, Pinckneyville held off a pesky Chester squad, but this time the stakes were much higher.
The Panther outscored Chester 24-11 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 74-53 win Monday night in the opening round of the Chester 2A Regional.
With the win, Pinckneyville advances to the championship game, which will take place Friday night. Chester finished the season with a record of 6-20 which, included a nine-game losing skid to finish the year.
While the Panthers were the heavy favorite, the Yellow Jackets led 11-9 at the end of the first quarter and were ready to do battle for 32 minutes.
Pinckneyville took control in the second quarter, outscoring Chester 22-10 for a 31-22 lead at the intermission.
The Jackets fought back in the third quarter outscoring Pinckneyville 21-19 which included a desperation shot from Aaron Grah way behind half-court to give his squad the momentum, trailing just 50-42 going into the fourth.
Jake Bathon led a balanced Pinckneyville attack with 18 points, while Shay Kellerman had 14, Drew Dudek added 13 and Nathan Morton finished with 12.
Zach Lochhead had 24 to pace Chester, while Justin Woodward had 16 and Grah tossed in 11.