COAL GROVE — Mike Stapleton may not be able to sew, but he knows a few things about stitches.

With Chesapeake needing to step up the offense, Stapleton threaded the basket for 16 points to lead the Panthers past the Coal Grove Hornets 54-43 Friday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

“Stapleton hit some seams and some jump shots. He’s a good athlete,” Hornets coach Mike Waller said. “Chesapeake was pretty balanced overall.”

Aaron Ross added 10 points, Kyle Webb came off the bench to score 9 points and Kyle Rase scored some clutch points in the fourth quarter for the Panthers (6-12, 2-7).

Adam Bare had 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Hornets who shot 44 percent overall and 55 percent from 2-point range.

“We played pretty well, but it’s been a broken record. We shot pretty well from the field, we just didn’t get enough shots,” Waller said.

Five different players scored as Coal Grove took a 13-12 first quarter lead.

Ross and Webb each scored 5 points including a 3-pointer in the second quarter as Chesapeake rallied to take a 26-22 halftime lead. Simon Hall had 5 points to keep Coal Grove close.

Stapleton, who had 8 points in the first half, scored 6 points in the third quarter and Webb had 4 more as the Panthers went up 39-32 after three stanzas.

Rase scored all 7 of his points in the fourth quarter to offset 7 points by Bare. Aaron Donahoe had4 points as Chesapeake held on for the win.

Chesapeake12141315=54

Coal Grove1391011=43

CHESAPEAKE (6-12, 2-7): Aaron Ross 1 2 2-2 10, Mike Stapleton 6 1 1-3 16, Marty Clay 0 0 0-0 0, Kyle Rase 3 0 1-1 7, Jonathan Greene 2 0 1-2 5, Aaron Donahoe 3 0 0-0 6, Kyle Webb 3 1 0-0 9, Jeremy Reaper 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18

4

6-10

54. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.

COAL GROVE (0-18, 0-9): Simon Hall 3 0 1-2 , Zach Murphy 3 0 1-5 7, Chris Dirling 3 0 0-0 6, Tyler Branch 1 0 0-0 2, Adam Bare 6 1 1-2 16, Wayne Sparks 1 1 0-0 5, Dave Haukedahl 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-41

3-9

43. 3-point goals: 2-10. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 10 (Bare 8). Assists: 10 (Murphy 6, Bare 3). Steals: 10 (Bare 3, Dirling 2, Hall 2). Turnovers: 15.