By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Chesapeake Panthers might want to moved Memorial Field House back to Ohio.

The site of the Huntington St. Joe Invitational tournament is scheduled for demolition and the tournament will move to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena next season.

The Panthers will miss it the most after winning their fourth straight SJI tournament championship by getting past the Fairland Dragons 70-62 Saturday night.

“It was a great game for us. We won and we were in a game that made us play for the full 32 minutes,” said Panthers’ coach Ryan Davis.

By winning the Gold Division, the Panthers improved to 12-1 on the season and beat the rival Dragons for the second time. They meet a third time at Fairland on Feb. 3.

Austin McMaster scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures for the Panthers. Patrick Hintz had 17 points while Javon Thompson and Eric Kennedy scored 14 points each.

Fairland (11-3) was led by Evan Maddox with 18 points. Evan Salyers scored 15 — 11 in the first half —while Nathan Campbell added 12.

McMaster was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Hintz, Salyers and Maddox were selected all-tournament.

Fairland led 17-16 after the first quarter but only scored 9 points in the second quarter. Thompson hit a pair of 3-pointers to trigger a 10-1 run in the second quarter as the Panthers rallied to take a 34-26 halftime lead.

Chesapeake went up 48-41 on a 3-point play by Hintz with one second on the clock, but Campbell heaved a 75-footer at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net and cut the deficit to 48-44.

Maddox drained a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter — he had 11 points in the quarter — to get the Dragons within 55-53, but Kennedy scored 12 points in the quarter and helped fuel a 10-2 run as the Panthers pulled away.

Fairland 17 9 18 18 = 62

Chesapeake 16 18 14 22 = 70

FAIRLAND (11-3): Evan Salyers 15, Evan Maddox 18, Nathan Campbell 12, Blaine Fuller 9, Eric Riley 4, Cody Midkiff 4. Totals: 22-49 15-20 62. 3-point goals: 3-10. Rebounds: 33. Assists: 5. Turnovers: 21.

CHESAPEAKE (12-1): Austin McMaster 20, Patrick Hintz 17, Javon Thompson 14, Eric Kennedy 14, Chad Meadows 3, Brandon Noble 2. Totals: 23-48 21-27 70. 3-point goals: 3-13. Rebounds: 27. Assists: 11. Turnovers: 15.