5 Takeaways: Althoff vs Pinckneyville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game of the year in 2A was held 15 days too early as the best two teams in that class battled as #1 Pinckneyville took on #2 Althoff in Chester for the regional final.&nbsp; It was a packed house with what was expected to be an intense game all the way through.&nbsp; Althoff took all of that away with a 17-3 run to close the first half and they never looked back winning by a final of 74-56.&nbsp; Here are our <strong>5 Takeaways: Althoff vs Pinckenyville</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hill Dominates on Both Ends</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first shot of the game was a three ball by [player_tooltip player_id='2105165' first='Dierre' last='Hill'] Jr and that set the tone for the rest of the evening.&nbsp; The physical guard was the most impactful player on both sides of the ball from beginning to end.&nbsp; Hill is an Oregon football commit who won Prep Redzone Player of the Year while leading his team to the state title.&nbsp; He is looking to do the same in football.&nbsp; The senior banged in a pair of threes, was physical off the bounce, got to the foul line, and made several super acrobatic conversions at the hoop.&nbsp; His defense was just as good getting into the opposing teams guards and distrupting everything they did forcing turnovers and making life uncomfortable for the Panthers.&nbsp; He finished with 21 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Winkeler Breaks Out on Big Stage</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hill got a huge lift in this one from fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='2464538' first='Zach' last='Winkeler'].&nbsp; The 6'1” shooting guard was on point from the first quarter and was a major contributor in their big run early.&nbsp; Plus shooter that can knock down shots from deep, but is also a quality athlete that can score on straight line takes as he went for 21 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2105302' first='Bryden' last='Gryzmala'] is another senior who deserves looks at the small college level.&nbsp; Quick and shifty guard that knocks down threes, mid-range shots, and passed it extremely well while scoring 12 points.&nbsp; Their juniors also helped as power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2323329' first='Kyle' last='Johnson'] finished in the paint out of the dunker spot netting 7 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1977254' first='Luke' last='Smith'] got after it defensively along with dishing the rock all over the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Junior Pinckneyville Big Man Goes for Double Double</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest bright spot in this game for Pinckneyville was the play of their 2026 big man [player_tooltip player_id='2323278' first='Ty' last='Laur'].&nbsp; He was assertive early in the game including bombing in a pair of threes, getting to the free throw line, and using soft touch around the hoop.&nbsp; Excellent passer which might be his biggest strength.&nbsp; Rebounded well in his area throughout the night going for 15 points and 10 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rend Lake Bound Duo Fights Until End</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pinckneyville got down early and the lead grew to 29 points early in the final quarter, but their wing duo of Rend Lake commits [player_tooltip player_id='2321427' first='AJ' last='Keith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2385167' first='Riley' last='Bauersachs'] didn't give up until the final buzzer on their high school careers.&nbsp; Keith couldn't get much going in the early part, but he crashed the offensive glass, played off his athleticism, and hit a couple threes to finish with 17.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2385167' first='Riley' last='Bauersachs'] is a PHI favorite as a 3 and D wing.&nbsp; He hit one triple and got to the line a couple times netting 8 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This Game Should Be Avoided This Early</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am not sure exactly how this game was seeded to be played this early.&nbsp; There is no way this game should have been played prior to a sectional final and possibly super sectional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->