Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

COAL GROVE — In a tournament sponsored by a heart doctor, the Coal Grove Hornets’ offense didn’t miss a beat.

The Hornets’ offense was pounding away from the start as they built a big first half lead and coasted past the Raceland Rams 58-45 Thursday during the opening day of the Dr. Paulus Heart of Champions Classic.

Alex Bare scored 18 points — he was 8 of 8 at the foul line — and was named the Classic game’s Most Valuable Player for the Hornets. Conor Markins scored 17 points to help Coal Grove improve to 5-2 on the season.

Zack Kelley had 12 points and was named the Rams’ game MVP. David Pennington also had 12 points for Raceland (2-7).

Markins scored 7 points in the first quarter to propel the Hornets to an 18-11 lead.

Bare scored 10 points and Sean Paulus got 6 of his 8 points in the second quarter as Coal Grove opened up a 36-21 halftime cushion.

The Rams managed to cut the deficit to 47-33 after three quarters, but Bare had 6 more points in the fourth quarter as Coal Grove coasted to the win.

Coal Grove will play Greenup County at 8 p.m. Friday in the second day of the Dr. Paulus Classic.

Raceland 11 10 12 12 = 45

Coal Grove 18 18 11 11 = 58

RACELAND (2-7): Connor Messer 2 0 0-0 4, Ryan Valencourt 2 0 3-3 7, Aaron Blankenship 1 2 0-0 8, David Pennington 5 0 2-4 12, Zack Kelley 1 3 1-2 12, Tristan Brown 1 0 0-0 2, Max Dixon 0 0 0-0 0, Chase Waddell 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Morris 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 5 6-9 45. Fouled out: Waddell.

COAL GROVE (5-2): Alex Bare 5 0 8-8 18, Sean Paulus 4 0 0-2 8, Isaiah Gunther 1 0 0-0 2, Brandon Adkins 2 0 1-2 5, Conor Markins 3 2 5-6 17, Joe Akers 1 0 2-2 4, Austen “Red” Pleasants 2 0 0-3 4, Jonathan Joseph 0 0 0-0 0, Kyle Estep 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 2 16-23 58. Fouled out: None.