Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Coal Grove Hornets got a little bit of everything and a little bit of something from everyone.

Putting it all together enabled the Hornets to roll past the Teays Valley Lions 68-39 Thursday in the St. Joe Invitational Classic at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

“The pressure was good for us. The kids hustled and played hard,” said Hornets’ coach Jay Lucas. “We knocked down some shots and we attacked the basket.”

Conor Markins had 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Hornets (10-6).

Sean Paulus, D.J. Miller and Isaiah Gunther scored eight points each, Brandon Adkins had seven points and 10 rebounds and Joe Akers six rebounds.

Lucas said everyone played their roles well and the combination proved to be the key to the win.

“Conor played well both games here. Adkins played really well, Paulus played steady, D.J. knock down some shots and Joe (Akers) is just Joe. He played defense and rebounded,” said Lucas.

Jace Heller scored 13 points and Zack Moore nine rebounds for Teays Valley (13-6).

Markins came out hot and hit a 3-poitner and a layup for a 5-0 lead. He scored 11 points in the quarter as the Hornets built a 14-8 lead.

Paulus made back-to-back layups to begin the second quarter, Markins sank two foul shots and drained a trifecta and Akers made a layup as the lead ballooned to 25-8 with 4:26 left in the half.

Two layups by Adkins and one by Paulus gave the Hornets their biggest lead of the half at 31-10.

Miller and Heller traded 3-pointers to close the half and it was 34-17.

Austen Pleasants came off the bench to hit two straight baskets inside and the lead was 51-23 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

Coal Grove led by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter.

Teays Valley 8 9 13 9 = 39

Coal Grove 14 20 17 17 = 68

TEAYS VALLEY CHRISTIAN (13-6): Parker D’Antoni 0 1 3-3 6, Jace Heller 2 2 3-4 13, Vlad Novak 1 0 1-2 3, Jeriah Joseph 1 1 4-6 9, Zack Moore 2 0 0-0 4, Noah Kessler 0 0 0-0 0, Luke Mace 0 0 2-2 2, Codee Adkins 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-52 13-17 39. 3-point goals: 4-21. Rebounds: 8-OR, 19-DR = 27 (Moore 9, Joseph 7). Team/deadball rebounds: 2. Assists: 5 (Novak 2). Steals: 11 (Heller 5). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

COAL GROVE (10-6): Sean Paulus 4 0 0-3 8, Brandon Adkins 3 0 1-2 7, D.J. Miller 1 2 0-0 8, Joe Akers 1 0 0-0 2, Conor Markins 5 2 2-2 18, Isaiah Gunther 2 1 1-2 8, Jonathan Joseph 1 0 0-0 2, Austen Pleasants 3 0 1-3 7, Isaac Fields 0 0 0-1 0, Travis Carey 1 0 0-0 2, Dalton Miller 2 0 0-0 4, Jacob Pierce 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 29-57 5-13 68. 3-point goals: 5-15. Rebounds: 16-OR, 32-DR = 48 (Adkins 10, Markins 7, Akers 6). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 13 (Gunther 3, D.J. Miller 3). Steals: 6 (Markins 2). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.