Chance Short
chance.short@irontontribune.com

CHESAPEAKE — Don’t let the lack of experience fool you, the Chesapeake Panthers have been gaining valuable lessons as they snuck past the Rock Hill Redmen 72-64 in an overtime thriller.
“We lack some experience, but we had a lot of guys step up today. Jacob (Lemley) can shoot the spot up three. He made two early and he really played smart defensively tonight,” said Chesapeake head coach Ryan Davis.
Lemley scored a career high 17 points and knocked down three triples in the first half to uplift the Panthers to their largest lead of the game at the half 35-26. Chesapeake outscored the Redmen 21-11 in the second quarter after trailing by one at the end of the first.
Things began to go downhill out of the break for Chesapeake. Jacob Schwab scored 8 points in the paint for Rock Hill and dominated the glass to bring them within five at the start of the fourth quarter. Owen Hankins scored 5 points in the quarter as well for the Redmen.
Rock Hill gained momentum and the confidence spilled over into the final period. Hankins drilled another 3-pointer with 4:54 to play in the game to take back the lead for the first time since the first quarter 51-50.
Chesapeake fell behind by five before Levi Blankenship decided it wasn’t time to go home yet. The senior scored 7 straight points to bring back the Panthers.
The junior guard stole an inbound pass with :17 seconds remaining to tie the ball game at 59-59. The Panthers held on for one more stop and extra basketball with overtime.
Turnovers were a problem for Rock Hill who outrebounded the Panthers 33-24, but gave the ball up 21 times. That was 11 more turnovers than Chesapeake.
Blankenship went 4-for-4 from the line in the overtime period and Ben Bragg added 5 points for the Panthers as they outscored the Redmen 13-5 to steal the win.
The Panthers finished wit four players in double digits as Blankenship had a game high 24 points, Lemley with 17 points, Bragg scored 13 points, and Caleb Schneider dropped in 12 points.
Schwab led Rock Hill with a team high 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Brayden Adams scored 14 points and Hankins finished with 12 points.
Rock Hill and Chesapeake will both play Fairland next as the Panthers will get the first crack at the Dragons on Wednesday. The Redmen will have their chance on Friday.
Rock Hill 15 11 19 14 5 = 64
Chesapeake 14 21 15 9 13 = 72
ROCK HILL (1-12, 0-9): Noah Doddridge 3 1 0-0 9, Owen Hankins 3 2 0-0 12, Caleb Murphy 1 0 0-0 2, Brayden Adams 4 2 0-1 14, Victor Day 1 0 0-0 2, Brayden Malone 5 0 0-0 10, Jacob Schwab 7 0 1-2 15, Lane Smith 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-58 1-3 64. 3-pt goals: 5-9. Rebounds: 8-O, 27-D = 35 (Schwab 10, Hankins 8, Doddridge 6). Assists: 14 (Adams 4, Schwab 4, Malone 3). Steals: 4 (Adams 4). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.
CHESAPEAKE (7-7, 4-6): Caleb Schneider 2 1 5-8 12, Nathan Cox 3 0 0-0 6, Levi Blankenship 6 1 9-9 24, Dannie Maynard 0 0 0-0 0, Ben Bragg 6 0 1-2 13, Devon Bellomy 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Lemley 4 3 0-0 17. Totals: 21 5 15-19 72. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.