COAL GROVE - There was one simple reason why the Coal Grove Hornets lost to the Fairview (Ky.) Eagles.

The Eagles are good.

Hornets first-year head coach Mike Waller didn't pull any punches when talking about the Eagles 89-49 win that spoiled his coaching debut.

&#8220They're a darn good team. They're one of the better teams we'll see all year,” Waller said. &#8220It's a tough opener for our kids, but we have a lot of teams we play that we can compete with on our schedule.”

Alex Barker led a balanced offense for Fairview (2-0) as he scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. Trevor Holbrook hit both his 3-point attempts and scored 14 points. Justin Hutchinson had 11 points and John Gehringer added 10.

Coal Grove was led by Randy Wise with a game-high 17 points. Evan Melvin scored 10 points and was the only other Hornet in double figures.

Leading 11-4 midway through the first quarter, Fairview scored six straight points and outscored the Hornets 8-4 the rest of the quarter to lead 19-8.

Holbrook and Barker combined for 12 points in the second quarter as Fairview continued to pull away. Coal Grove began to get into foul trouble and forced Waller to use his young bench sooner and more often than he wanted.

&#8220We got in some early foul trouble and the kids we have to put in have no experience. We played seven kids who have not played one varsity second,” Waller said.

Wise got the hot hand and drained three shots from the 3-point arc and cut the Eagles lead from 20 to 16. But if wasn't enough as the Eagles opened up a 49-26 halftime lead and coasted to the win.

Fairview19301921=89

Coal Grove8181013=49

FAIRVIEW (2-0):

Trevor Holbrook 5-8 2-2 2-2 14, Alex Barker 6-8 3-5 0-0 15, Danny Stewart 2-4 1-1 0-0 5, Justin Hutchinson 5-8 1-2 0-0 11, Cody Black 2-6 0-1 0-0 0-0 4, Cameron Hall 1-2 1-1 0-1 3, Caleb Collier 4-8 0-2 0-0 8, Shawn Howard 1-5 0-1 0-0 2, Jeremy Bayless 2-2 0-0 0-0 4, John Gehringer 5-6 0-0 0-0 10, Craig McCormick 2-4 0-0 3-8 7, David Armstrong 0-1 0-0 6-6 6. Totals: 35-62

8-15

11-17

89. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 11-26=37 (Black 7, McCormick 6, Bayless 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 7. Assists: 10 (Barker 4, Holbrook 4). Steals: 7 (Holbrook 4). Turnovers: 10.

COAL GROVE (0-1):

Zach Murphy 2-7 1-3 0-0 5, Evan Melvin 4-11 0-1 2-3 10, Matt Melvin 0-2 0-0 0-2 0, Randy Wise 6-14 4-7 1-2 17, Adam Bare 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Sloan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Dirling 2-7 2-4 0-0 6, B.J. Harbolt 0-3 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Dean 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Branch 4-8 0-0 1-2 9, Rob Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Allen 1-1 0-0 0-0 2. Totals: 19-55

(7-16)

4-9

49. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 4-14=18 (Murphy 4, Reynolds 3, Bare 3, M. Melvin 3). Team/deadball rebounds: 6. Assists: 8 (Bare 3, Sloan 3). Steals: 6 (Wise 2, Reynolds 2). Turnovers: 17.