Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

COAL GROVE — With victory in their sights, the Coal Grove Hornets turned to Mark Sites.
Coal Grove was clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter and began to hold the ball. The Portsmouth Trojans were forced to foul and the player with the ball was Sites.
Sites came through by making 6-of-6 from the foul line as Coal Grove beat the Trojans 51-46 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday.
“That was a big help to step up and knock down the free throws at the end. We wanted the ball in Mark’s hands,” said Vanderhoof.
“I’m just proud of my kids. They work hard and battle through adversity.”
Jeb Jones — who led Coal Grove with a game-high 18 points — was 2-of-3 from the line in fourth quarter as the Hornets were 8-of-9 as a team.
“We played well the past few games. Tonight our kids gutted it out. We were able to make plays. Hopefully we grew up,” said Vanderhoof.
Sites finished with 14 points for the Hornets (3-2, 1-1).
Kendall Reynolds had 17 points and Mak Malone 12 for Portsmouth (1-1, 0-1).
Jones and Sites scored 4 points each in the first quarter as Coal Grove went up 12-11. Kendall Reynolds scored 10 of Portsmouth’s points.
Matt Malone hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 8 points in the second quarter as Portsmouth rallied to take a 26-24 lead at the half.
But Elijah Roman hit a key 3-pointer and Coal Grove matched Portsmouth with 13 points each in the third quarter and it was 39-37.
“We’ve had a fast start the past two games and then cooled down. They came out the third quarter and hit a couple of 3’s and went up eight. Roman hit a three that kind of got us going. We went on a 7-0 run and got up three and we were real patient,” said Vanderhoof.
After Coal Grove took a 3-point lead, the Trojans scored to get within one. But the Hornets began to work the ball for a good shot and forced Portsmouth to foul.
“I told them they were going to win on the defensive end. We made them go one-and-done and then hit the boards. They had eight offensive boards in the first half and we cleaned that up in the second half.”
Portsmouth only managed two offensive rebounds in the second half. Coal Grove held a 29-22 rebound advantage.
Coal Grove hosts Raceland on Thursday, Dec. 29. Portsmouth hosts Portsmouth West on Friday.
Portsmouth    11    15    13    7    =    46
Coal Grove    12    12    13    14    =    51
PORTSMOUTH (1-1, 0-1): D.J. Eley 1 0 0-0 2, Daniel Jordan 1 0 2-4 4, Dakota Reynolds 1 0 0-0 2, Mike Malone 1 3 1-2 12, Kendall Reynolds 3 3 2-5 17, Reese Johnson 1 2 0-0 8, Gabe Gambill 0 0 1-2 1, A.J. Jones 0 0 0-0 0, Ty Oliver 0 0 0-0 0, Jahmie King 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-43 6-13 46. 3-point goals: 8-25. Rebounds: 10-), 12-D = 22. Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: D. Reynolds.
COAL GROVE (3-2, 1-1): Aaron Music 2 0 0-0 4, Jordan Case 3 0 0-0 6, Daniel Rutherford 3 0 0-0 6, Mark Sites 2 0 10-11 14, Jeb Jones 7 0 4-7 18, Elijah Roman 0 1 0-0 3, Kyle Sites 0 0 0-0 0, Evan Gannon 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-38 14-18 51. 3-point goals: 1-7. Rebounds: 9-O, 20-D = 29. Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.