Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

CHESAPEAKE — The Chesapeake Panthers’ defense was tough on the Coal Grove Hornets.

Gage Rhoades was just tough yet again.

The Panthers defense shut down the Hornets’ offense on one end of the floor while Rhoades reached a milestone on the other end as Chesapeake beat Coal Grove 53-33 on Tuesday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Rhoades scored 20 points as he eclipsed the 1,000 career point total.

“It doesn’t happen very often, so it’s a nice accomplishment, especially for someone who has worked so hard for it. He’s really put a ton of time in,” said Panthers’ coach Ryan Davis.

“It’s a goal and something you dream about, but Gage wants a lot more out of the season than that. Now he’s got that out of the way and he can more on toward other goals. It’s a pretty good accomplishment to do in three years of varsity basketball.”

Jake Stevens added 10 points as Chesapeake improved to 10-2 and 5-1 in the OVC.

Coal Grove (4-7, 2-5) was led by Jeb Jones with 10 points and Daniel Rutherford with 8 points.

Rhoades scored 4 points in the first quarter as Chesapeake raced to a 19-6 lead.

Rhoades got more 8 points in the second quarter including a 12-foot runner down the right side of the lane with three seconds left in the half that gave him career points 1,000 and the Panthers a 33-15 lead.

“We played decent the first half. We gave up a few easy things, but for the most part we were pretty tough on them,” said Davis.

“Wesley (Stephens) and Austin (Hutchison) did some good things in the first half. We did a good job sharing the ball and getting some good looks.”

The Panthers outscored the Hornets 20-18 in the second half as both teams emptied their benches.

In league games on Friday, Chesapeake plays at Fairland in a battle for first place while Coal Grove hosts Ironton.

Coal Grove 6 9 7 11 = 33

Chesapeake 19 14 10 10 = 53

COAL GROVE (4-7, 2-5): Evan Holmes 1 0 1-2 3, Cole Gannon 0 0 0-0 0, Dylan Malone 0 0 0-0 0, Aaron Music 2 1 0-0 7, Daniel Rutherford 4 0 0-0 8, Dalton Miller 1 0 0-0 2, Jaylen McKenzie 0 0 0-0 0, Chase McKnight 0 0 1-2 1, Jeb Jones 5 0 0-2 10, Alijah Roman 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 1 2-6 33. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.

CHESAPEAKE (10-2, 5-1): Austin Hutchison 2 0 0-0 4, Jake Stevens 2 2 0-0 10, Casey McComas 1 0 2-2 4, Cole Mills 0 0 0-0 0, Kolton Webb 3 0 0-1 6, David Dotson 0 0 0-0 0, Kelton Jones 0 0 0-0 0, Gage Rhoades 10 0 0-0 20, Brad Meadows 2 0 1-2 5, Wesley Stephens 2 0 0-0 4, Austin Browning 0 0 0-0 0, Zach Wright 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 2 3-5 53. Fouls: 6. Fouled out: None.