PROCTORVILLE — Offense gets headlines. Defense gets victories.

Offense gave the Chesapeake Panthers a first half lead, but it was the Fairland Dragons defense in the second half that produced a 56-48 win in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.

Chesapeake’s Mike Stapleton put on a shooting clinic in the first half as he drained 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range and scored 21 points to give the Panthers a 29-21 halftime lead.

But the Dragons defense stiffened in the second half and held the Panthers to 19 points after the break.

“The difference in the game was our defense in the second half,” Fairland coach Chad Belville said. “The first half they did a good job of hold us to 21 points.

“W became committed to defense in the second half. We decided to shut them down and we didn’t worry about who was scoring. You could see it in their eyes.”

Michael Lamb scored 8 points in the first quarter to offset a pair of treys by Stapleton and put the Dragons up 15-10.

But Stapleton had 15 of the Panthers 19 points in the second quarter to make it 29-21.

But in the third quarter, the Dragons were 7 of 13 from the field including Dustin Bumgardner who scored 9 of Fairland’s 15 points. His 3-point play at the buzzer tied the game at 36-36 and gave the Dragons momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Fairland was even better from the field

— 7 of 10 — than in the third quarter.

Bumgardner continued to be the main weapon as he finished the half 7 of 8 from the field.

“As good as Stapleton was the first half, Bumgardner was that good the second half. Offensively, he stood up and took the bull by the horns,” Belville said. “And give the other kids credit. They figures a way to get him the ball.”

Early in the final quarter, Ethan Long made one of two foul shots and, after a defensive stop, Lamb nailed a 3-pointer to give Fairland a 40-36 lead.

“They never recovered from that shot (by Lamb),” Belville said.

Fairland is now 3-1 overall while Chesapeake slips to 1-3. Belville said he expects the return match to be just as exciting.

“They’re still Chesapeake and they will still battle you. It’ll be a war when we go to their place,” Belville said

Bumgardner finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lamb had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Stapleton finished with 26 points. Kyle Rase added 12 points.

Chesapeake1019712=48

Fairland1561520=56

CHESAPEAKE (1-3, 0-1): Aaron Ross 0-2 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Stapleton 3-10 6-12 2-4 26, Marty Clay 0-1 2-3 0-0 6, Kyle Rase 3-13 0-3 6-7 12, Jonathan Greene 1-4 0-0 0-1 2, Joe Riley 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremy Reaper 1-1 0-0 0-0 2. Totals: 8-31 8-19 8-12

48. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 14.

FAIRLAND (3-1, 1-0): Zach Jordan 2-2 0-1 1-1 5, Matt Bloomfield 1-2 0-0 0-0 2, Jordan Kersey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Long 2-4 0-0 1-2 5, Cole Hatfield 2-8 0-0 1-3 5, Jacob Lucas 2-4 0-1 1-2 5, Zach Ferguson 0-0 0-2 0-0 0, Michael Lamb 6-10 1-2 0-0 15, Caleb Hatfield 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Dustin Bumgarder 8-10 0-0 3-3 19. Totals: 23-40 1-6 7-11 56. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 34 (Bumgardner 10, Lamb 7, Lucas 6). Assists: 18 (Co. Hatfield 7, Lamb 5). Turnovers: 15.