CHESAPEAKE — The West Union Dragons will be trying to turn the Chesapeake Panthers outside in.

West Union will try to utilize its outside shooting to open up the inside game when the Dragons (13-8) tangle with the Panthers (19-2) at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Ohio University in the Division III district semifinals.

“They like to shoot the ball from the perimeter, especially (Jordan) Cox and (Adam) Barr. If they’re hitting outside, that opens up the inside and (Jeremy) Bennington is awful strong inside,” Panthers coach Norm Persin said.

Cox, a 5-10 junior, averaged 14.6 points a game that includes 32 3-point goals. Barr has scored at only a 7.2 clip but he has hit 26 trifectas.

The 6-foot-4 Bennington is averaging 12.8 points a game.

“Bennington is strong inside. We can’t just focus on one aspect of their game. We have to be ready to stop them outside and inside,” Persin said.

The Panthers are not without their own inside and outside scoring punch.

P.J. Rase, a 6-2 senior guard, leads the Panthers with a 17.0 scoring average. Rase is shooting 53 percent from the field and an amazing 93 percent from the foul

line. He also shoots 40 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Senior Justin Porter, a 6-3 forward, is arguably the area’s top defensive players and also averages 14 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. Brent Ransbottom, a 6-6 senior, and Jeffrey Thornburg, a 6-4 senior, both average 10 points.

The fifth starter is senior guard Caleb McComas.

“We’ll try to get our offense going. A lot of our offense comes from our press, so our press has to be effective. If not, we’ll get caught up in a halfcourt game,” Persin said.

Sunday’s first game has the Fairland Dragons playing Alexander at 2 p.m. followed by Wheelersburg and Huntington Ross at 3:45. The final game pits Adena against Zane Trace at 7:15.

The Chesapeake-West Union winner will play the Adena-Zane Trace winner in the district finals.