CHESAPEAKE - Trent Finley supplied the bulk of the offense. His teammates supplied all the rest.

The Chesapeake Panthers filled their roles well as they spanked the Portsmouth Trojans 82-44 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

Finley drained four 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead the Panthers. P.J. Rase had 16 points, five assists and three steals while Matt Whitmore grabbed six rebounds and Brent Ransbottom five.

"Finley scored a lot, but we had a lot of guys contribute defensively. (Caleb) McComas and (Dustin) O'Brien guarded well in the second quarter and caused some turnovers. Whitmore was real active inside, and Rase did a good job running the show," Chesapeake coach Norm Persin said.

Finley scored 15 points in the first quarter including a pair of 3-pointers as the Panthers bolted to a 28-11 lead.

Rase came back with 11 points in the second quarter and the defense limited Portsmouth to just 6 points as the lead ballooned to 50-17.

"We were a little nervous at first, but we settled down. We made some shots early," Persin said.

Whitmore got 6 points in the third quarter as the lead grew to 71-34.

All 12 players on the Chesapeake roster scored and played a considerable amount of time, something Persin said was valuable to the team's development.

"Everyone played 10 or 11 minutes. We just tried to get everyone in the lineup and keep the intensity. It's good to get that first one out of the way," Persin said.

Justin Nelson scored 12 points to lead Portsmouth.

Portsmouth1161710-44

Chesapeake28222119-82

PORTSMOUTH (0-1):

A.J. Johnson 0 1 0-0 3, Jeff Pendleton 1 0 2-2 4, Justin Nelson 3 1 3-4 12, Steve Taylor 2 0 2-2 6, Justin Skaggs 0 0 1-4 1, Charlie Doll 0 0 1-2 1, Mike Valentine 2 0 0-0 4, Mike Purdy 5 0 1-4 11, Michael Hickman 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 16-43

(2)

10-18

44. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

CHESAPEAKE (1-0):

Zach Morrison 2 0 1-2 5, Caleb McComas 0 1 0-0 3, Brennan Hall 2 0 0-0 4, Mike Stapleton 2 0 0-0 4, Dustin O'Brien 2 0 0-2 4, Tyler Shoemaker 0 1 0-0 3, Justin Porter 2 0 2-2 6, P.J. Rase 3 2 4-4 16, Jeff Thornburg 1 0 0-0 2, Trent Finley 5 4 1-1 23, Matt Whitmore 3 0 2-2 8, Brent Ransbottom 2 0 0-2 4. Totals: 32-60

(8)

10-15

82. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 32 (Whitmore 6, Ransbottom 5). Assists: 15 (Rase 5). Steals: 9 (Rase 3). Turnovers: 12.