Hornets Win Two Of Three
Nashville Hornets senior Hayden Heggemeier drives down the lane and looks to pass the ball during the Hornets win over Greenville on January 10.
After losing three straight games to Breese Central, Pinckneyville, and Okawville, the Nashville Hornets bounced back with wins over Greenville and DuQuoin, before dropping the first game of the Nashville Invitational Tournament against Mascoutah on Monday night.
The Hornets got back on the winning track on Tuesday January 10 with a 41-26 win over the Greenville Comets in a rematch of the Regional Championship game last season. A close game throughout the first quarter, the Hornets were able to take a 9-5 lead after one. In the second, the Hornets were able to double their lead, as they outscored the Comets 12-8 in the quarter.
After the break, the two teams struggled to score as just nine points combined were scored in the third quarter. Of the nine points, Greenville held the advantage, as they outscored Nashville 5-4 in the frame to cut Nashville's lead to seven going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the game belonged to the Hornets, as Nashville put the game away. The Hornets outscored Greenville 16-8 to pull away for the victory.
Hayden Heggemeier led Nashville in the win with 15 points. Both Brogan Kemp and Ryan Brink added eight points, while Langdon Briles came in off the bench for four points. Bryce Bultman and Brandon Schnitker each had three points in the win.
After the game, Coach Brad Weathers, talked about Greenville. "Give Greenville a lot of credit, they came down and they're athletes, they're physical, they were very well prepared. They ran their offense, and they were very patient with their offense trying to get us to break down, and thankfully our defense was good enought tonight, we kept them in check even though we didn't shoot it well."
The Hornets were back in action on Thursday, January 12 against the DuQuoin Indains. The game was played a day early due to weather concerns. Both teams came out evenly matched, but Nashville held the early 13-11 advantage after the first quarter. In the second, the Hornets were able to build upon their lead as they outscored DuQUoin 15-9 to take a eight point lead into halftime.
The Hornets put the game away in the third quarter, as they outscored DuQuoin 23-7. The Hornets were led in the third quarter by Heggemeier, who scored eight points, including two big three pointers. Kemp added six points in the quarter for Nashville. In the fourth, the Indians made a run, but DuQuoin could not make a comeback as the Hornets took the game.
Coach Weathers talked about his team's performance after the game. "We would've like to play a cleaner game. We didn't have that many turnovers I don't think, but the ones in the first half that we had, I think were self-inflicted. There was a stretch there where we could of had better shot selection, or we didn't get a shot, we tried to force. But it was a tough ball game and we grinded it out and got a conference win."
Nashville was led by Kemp who finished with a double-double with 19 points, and 10 rebounds. Heggemeier finished with 13 points followed by Brink with 11 points. Briles finished with four points, while Cameron Parker finished with three points. Trevor Meier, Bryce Bultman, Brandon Schnitker and Carson Parker all finished with two points apiece in the win.
The Hornets then began play in the Nashville Invitational Tournament, a grueling four game stretch that features games against Mascoutah, Breese Central, Mater Dei, and Teutopolis.
The Nashville Hornets kicked off the Nashville Invitational Tournament with a 68-62 loss to the Mascoutah Indians.
The Hornets fell behind early as Mascoutah started the game hot from the field. Mascoutah jumped out to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, and led 28-21 at halftime.
In the second half, the Hornets would make a run, as they were able to tie the game in the third quarter at 35, but Mascoutah closed the quarter on a 9-0 run and took a 44-35 lead into the fourth quarter..
In the fourth, the Hornets would close the gap, but could not complete a comeback as Mascoutah was able to hold on late for a 68-62 victory.
The Hornets were led in the game by four players in double figures. Bultman finished with 18 points for the Hornets, followed by Kemp with 15 points, Brink with 14 points, and Heggemeier with 10 points.
