CHESHIRE — The Coal Grove Hornets had only one lead in Friday’s Ohio Valley Conference game.

It was the only lead they needed.

Justin Hyland hit a 16-footer from the baseline with 1.2 seconds to play to give the Hornets their only lead as they beat the River Valley Raiders 69-68.

"Justin Hyland wants to win and he wants to be the guy who makes the play. He likes challenges," Hornets coach Darrell Humphreys said.

Hyland's shot capped an amazing second half comeback. Coal Grove trailed by 21 points in the third quarter.

To complicate matters, the Hornets lost Randy Wise and Jim Lemon to fouls in the fourth quarter. Humphreys said the bench proved to be a key.

Randy Wise scored 23 points including five 3-pointers to lead the Hornets. Hyland finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

Wise was 6 of 6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Sexton came off the bench to score 10 points. Lemon had eight rebounds and Adam Base six.

"Wise played big. And our bench came through for us. We needed them tonight and they did a nice job," Humphreys said. "Tyler Sexton gave us some quality minutes off the bench and the scoring punch we needed. And Adam Bare did a nice job for us with some big points and rebounds."

River Valley took a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 41-27 halftime cushion.

The lead reached 15 points midway through the third quarter before the Hornets cut the deficit to 52-44 at the end of the quarter.

"River Valley is a tough place to play. We were fortunate to win," Humphreys said. "They were averaging 83 points a game coming in, so to hold them to 68 points is a nice accomplishment. We showed some composure. We took some steps forward."

Colby Reese had 20 points to lead River Valley before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter. Steven Harder had 15 points and Chris Roush scored 14 for the Raiders, 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the OVC.

Coal Grove12151725-69

River Valley21201116-68

COAL GROVE (4-2, 2-0):

Zach Huber 1 0 2-2 4, Evan Melvin 0 0 2-2 2, Justin Hyland 3 1 2-2 11, Tyler Sexton 3 1 3-10 12, Randy Wise 1 5 6-6 23, Jim Lemon 4 0 1-2 9, Adam Bare 3 0 2-5 8. Totals: 22-46

(7)

18-29

69. Fouls: 31. Fouled out: Lemon, Wise, Huber. Rebounds: 13-16=29 (Lemon 8, Hyland 6, Bare 6). Assists: 7 (Wise 3). Steals: 7 (Wise 3). Turnovers: 7.

RIVER VALLEY (2-1, 1-1):

Chris Roush 1 2 6-6 14, Cory Ehman 0 0 1-2 1, Darren Clark 0 1 4-10 7, Derrick Smith 0 0 2-5 2, Kyle Tipton 3 0 3-8 9, Colby Reese 4 2 6-6 20, Steven Harder 7 0 1-5 15. Totals: 15

5

23-42

68. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Smith.