ATHENS – The Chesapeake Panthers look in different directions on opposite ends of the floor.

Thursday, March 01, 2001

ATHENS – The Chesapeake Panthers look in different directions on opposite ends of the floor. On offense, they look for Anthony Delimpo. On defense, the glances go toward Josh Waugh.

Delimpo’s offense and Waugh’s defense were key factors Wednesday night as the Panthers knocked off the Unioto Sherman Tanks 78-61 in the Division III district semifinals.

Delimpo had 19 points and 12 rebounds with 15 points and eight rebounds coming in the second half.

Waugh had 15 points, but it was his defensive effort on Unioto’s leading scorer Bobby Huffman that was the key.

Huffman came into the game averaging nearly 21 points a game. He finished with 13 – seven coming in the fourth quarter – as he made just 4-of-19 field goal attempts. Waugh blocked two of his shots and Aaron Gossett one.

Waugh knew coming into the game he was going to get the assignment of guarding Huffman. The job didn’t phase Waugh.

"Coach told me who I had. I always guard the best player. I enjoy that," Waugh said. "When tournament time rolls around, you have to play better. You have to step up more defensively. I never worry about offensive end of it. I let the offense come."

Besides Delimpo and Waugh, Bobby Barbour scored 14 points to go along with five assists while Beckett Gue had 12 points, four assists, and three steals.

Chesapeake (22-1) struggled the first quarter, falling behind midway through the quarter before tying the game at 14-14 on a layup by Barbour just before the buzzer.

"We didn’t react early. Sometimes we stood too much," Panthers coach Norm Persin said. "We just played in spurts offensively, but we played well defensively."

Zeb Best converted a 3-point play to begin the second quarter, Delimpo tipped in a missed shot, Barbour then drained a 3-pointer and added a pair of free throws to complete the 10-0 run and put the Panthers up for good at 24-14 with 4:20 left in the half.

Unioto (14-9) got within 30-23 on a layup by Jeff Fisher with 52 seconds left, but Gue’s layup with one second left put the lead at 32-23.

The Shermans stayed within seven points to start the second half and got within 40-34 on a 3-pointer by Fisher at the 5:15 mark. Adam Webb and Delimpo got back-to-back layups and Barbour sank two free throws to push the lead to 47-35 with 3:36 left in the quarter.

Robbins stopped the run with two foul shots, but then Chesapeake went on a 10-2 spurt keyed by Barbour’s two 3-pointers and it was 57-39.

"They came out and hit some shots to start the second half, but that’s when Delimpo took over and dominated. Barbour had a good game and Josh did a great job on Huffman. He’s a great shooter," Persin said.

Unioto began to foul the fourth quarter and the free throw contest was on. Chesapeake sank 15-of-24 shots with Gue doing most of the damage by converting 8-of-10 to prevent any hopes of a Unioto comeback.

Gue said there really wasn’t much pressure.

"I had to help out and do may part," said Gue. "My concentration was better because it’s tournament time.

The Panthers will now play Waverly at 8 p.m. Friday, March 9, at Ohio University in the district finals. Waverly edged Zane Trace 57-56 in overtime in Wednesday’s first game.