CHESAPEAKE – Some things the Chesapeake Panthers didn’t do well.

Wednesday, January 09, 2002

CHESAPEAKE – Some things the Chesapeake Panthers didn’t do well. But they made up for it by doing better in other areas.

Despite a less than stellar shooting night, the Panthers picked it up on defense and rebounding as they beat the Rock Hill Redmen 56-50 in an Ohio Valley Conference game Tuesday.

"We missed a lot of shots inside that didn’t fall for us, but we battled on the boards pretty well and we took care of the ball better and we played good defense," Panthers coach Norm Persin said. "But give Rock Hill credit. They played pretty well."

Chesapeake is now 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the league. Rock Hill fell to 4-5 and 0-2.

"I think every OVC game is going to be like this. It’s just back-and-forth. It’s going to be tough to win, especially on the road," Persin said.

Aaron Gossett had a big all-around game for the Panthers with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals. Nick Karle had 17 points and seven rebounds while Tommie Hill handed out four assists.

David Schug topped Rock Hill with a game-high 21 points. Isaac Kitchen scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers.

Karle had seven points the first quarter as Chesapeake took a 15-12 lead.

Gossett knocked down nine points the second quarter as the Panthers took a 28-23 halftime lead.

But Rock Hill cut the deficit to 36-34 after three quarters as Schug scored seven points the third quarter.

Matt Rucker scored all six of his points the fourth quarter as the Panthers gradually pulled away. Kitchen hit three 3-pointers for nine points as he kept the Redmen in striking distance.

On Friday, Chesapeake travels to Coal Grove for an OVC game while Rock Hill plays at Ironton St. Joe.

Rock Hill 12 11 11 16 – 50

Chesapeake 15 13 8 20 – 56

ROCK HILL (4-5, 0-2): Isaac Kitchen 0 4 0-0 12, Mitchell Kerns 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Townsend 0 0 0-0 0, Donald Cade 0 0 0-0 0, Robbie McClellan 2 0 1-2 5, Rickie McDonie 3 0 0-0 6, Gabe Ruggles 0 0 0-0 0, Roger Joseph 3 0 0-1 6, David Schug 5 2 5-6 21. Totals: 13 6 6-9 50. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: McClellan.

CHESAPEAKE (6-3, 1-0): Adam Skeens 1 0 0-0 2, Aaron Gossett 5 1 6-7 19, Nick Karle 8 0 1-2 17, Timmy Thacker 2 0 0-0 4, Brad Fulton 2 0 0-0 4, Luke Beach 0 0 0-0 0, Tommie Hill 1 0 2-2 4, Matt Rucker 1 0 4-6 6. Totals: 20 1 13-17 56. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 37 (Gossett 10, Karle 7). Turnovers: 13. Steals: 8 (Gossett 2, Karle 2). Assists: 12 (Hill 4).