Chesapeake vs. Ridgedale

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 15, 2001

MORRAL – It will be tradition vs.

Thursday, March 15, 2001

MORRAL – It will be tradition vs. a budding tradition. The Morral Ridgedale Rockets are in the process of trying to build a basketball tradition, and they face a team in the Chesapeake Panthers who boast their own rich tradition including seven regional tournament appearances.

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Which tradition surfaces will be determined Tuesday when the Panthers tip off at 6:15 p.m. against the Rockets in the Division III regional semifinals at Ohio University.

"We’ve been fortunate to have a good group of seniors each year to lead us and the younger kids have filled in," third-year Rockets coach James Collins said.

Collins has compiled an impressive 58-12 record. Last year’s team was 19-5 and reached the Division IV district finals before losing to Worthington Christian.

The Rockets, now 24-0, are the only team in school history to go unbeaten in the regular season. They won the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Blue Division championship for the third straight season.

Collins assistant coach is his father, Will Collins, who won 548 games during his career as a head coach.

"It’s been really nice. He’s been through a lot. When you coach over 800 games, there’s not much he hasn’t seen," said Collins.

The Rockets (24-0) are similar to the Panthers (23-1). Each team starts five seniors, has a lot of balance on offense, and stresses team defense.

"The similarities are that both teams have pretty good athletes. Even though we have different schemes, both teams try to play good defense," said Collins.

Jeff Thiel, a 6-foot-4 senior, leads the team with 18.7 scoring and 7.7 rebound averages. He also is tops with 3.2 steals and is second with 2.3 assists.

Todd Hensel, a 6-4 senior, is second with a 12.4 scoring average and 5.0 rebounds. Also in double figures is 6-foot senior Chad Mattix at 11.3 points a game.

Jon Price, a 6-foot senior, and 5-11 senior John Beard round out the starting lineup.

The top players off the bench are 6-1 senior Derek Dibling, 5-11 junior Mike Richmond, and 6-4 sophomore Eric Parker.

Dibling scores 6.0 points a game and his 48 percent from 3-point range. Hensel is shooting 45 percent from behind the arc while Parker averages 5.7 points off the bench.

But Chesapeake has plenty to offer from all areas, including coaching.

Coach Norm Persin has a 411-122 record in 26 seasons and six trips to the regionals along with 13 league championships.

Offensively, the Panthers are led by 6-6 senior Anthony Delimpo with 18 points and 10 rebounds per contest.

Zeb Best, a 6-4 senior averages 13 points and 7.0 rebounds, 6-2 senior Josh Waugh 12 points and 5.0 rebounds, 5-9 senior Bobby Barbour 15 points and 3.0 steals, and 6-1 senior Beckett Gue 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals a game.

"Their offense is very efficient, the defense is strong, and they obviously have a good coach. Put those things together and they make for a good team," said Collins.

"We’ll just put things out there and see what happens. We don’t have a basis to start from. We’ll just try different things. They have so many weapons, we’re going to have to play really well. If we play really well, it’ll be a good game."