CHESAPEAKE — Brody Buchanan notched a game-high 34 points, Fairland’s defense made critical stops, and the Dragons shut the door on a Panthers’ comeback to beat Chesapeake 68-62 in a double overtime thriller and claim an outright Ohio Valley Conference championship on Wednesday night.

Just five days ago, both teams met in Proctorville where the Dragons rallied back in the second half to beat Chesapeake 55-49 in double overtime.

Fast-forward to Wednesday, and the Panthers appeared as if they would flip the script and make the second half comeback and pick up the win.

But Fairland coach Nathan Speed felt that his team was never bothered by the Panthers comeback rally and remained poised.

“Our guys were never rattled. I don’t think our kids ever got rattled once,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed.

“I think that’s one great thing about this team. We’re not just fundamental on offense, but also on defense. That’s the goal, be fundamental defensively. Don’t leave your feet, box out, take good angles, release when you’re beat, and help the helper.”

Fairland’s defense showcased some of those fundamentals, getting big stops at key moments.

One of those stops came in the final 30 seconds of regulation when Chesapeake was trying to hold the ball for the last shot. Trevor Lochow was able to disrupt a handoff at mid-court between Maddox Kazee and Kaden Perkins to draw an over-and-back call and deny the Panthers a chance to win in regulation.

Then the example came in the second overtime, when Cliff Franzen came up with a steal on what could’ve been a potential runout layup attempt to give the Panthers a 3-point lead. The steal would set up Buchanan’s game-winning score on a drive to the hoop to make it 63-62 with 53 seconds remaining.

“I was proud of the poise we showed throughout (Chesapeake’s) runs and getting stops when we needed to,” said Speed. “Especially at the end with just tough solid defense. We didn’t give them a good look and came down strong with the rebound.”

Chesapeake had a chance to take the lead on the ensuing possession, but Phillip Thacker’s shot was contested in the lane by Gabe Polcyn at the last second and the ball rolled off the iron and into Buchanan’s hands.

Clinching the conference title with his teammates was something Buchanan was more than happy to express afterwards.

“It feels amazing. Especially with this team, we play so together. We’re such a family,” said Buchanan.

Fairland (20-1, 14-0) grabbed control of the game in the last two minutes of the second quarter with Lochow pulling the trigger from the corner for one of his three 3-pointers on the night, then Buchanan followed with a triple from the same corner to add to the lead.

The Dragons took a 30-24 lead into the locker room after Buchanan threw a cross court pass to Fransen for a 3-pointer as time expired.

Fransen finished the night with 17 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Lochow chipped in 13.

Lochow gave Fairland the game’s largest lead of the game at 9 when he hit a 3-pointer on Fairland’s first possession of the second half.

But the Panthers began their comeback using a 12-3 run. Kerns led the scoring spree with 10 points and an assist to Karson Frecka to tie the game at 36-all at the 3:30 mark of the third.

Buchanan would halt the scoring run with four-straight points to close out the third and give the Dragons a 40-36 lead going into the final quarter.

Buchanan provided hearty contributions during the second half, scoring 25 points after halftime. The senior guard credited his success on the offensive end to what the defense gave him.

“I just read the defense. If they give me the rim, I’m going to go to the rim. If they give me that step, which I felt like they were, I’m going to take my pull-up, “said Buchanan. “And I felt like my pull-up was there all night.”

The Panthers continued to rally in the fourth, as Kazee got the hot hand with 9 of Chesapeake’s 15 points in the quarter.

Kazee led the Panthers in scoring with 25 and 4 rebounds. Kerns finished with 21 and Frecka chipped in 9 points and 6 boards.

Thacker tied the game up at 51 with 1:33 remaining after driving down the lane for a layup. Kerns followed up on the other end with a steal along the baseline to give the Panthers the ball back with 1:05 remaining and set up the finish in regulation.

Fairland 15 15 10 11 5 12 = 68

Chesapeake 13 11 12 15 5 6 = 62

FAIRLAND (20-1, 14-0): Gabe Polcyn 1 0 0-0 2, Trevor Lochow. 5 3 0-0 13, Cliff Fransen 5 1 6-6 17, Keegan Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Brody Buchanan 12 5 5-6 34, Jeremiah Fizer 0 0 0-0 0, Maddox Gue 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 9 11-12 68. Rebounds: Fransen 7, Buchanan 4, Smith 3). Assists: 11 (Polcyn 6, Buchanan 3). Steals: 3 (Lochow 1, Fransen 1, Buchanan 1). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.

CHESAPEAKE (19-3, 11-2): Ethan Kerns 8 3 2-2 21, Jon Cooper Barker 0 0 0-0 0, Drew Plantz 0 0 0-0 0, Kaden Perkins 0 0 1-2 1, Maddox Kazee 11 1 2-2 25, Philip Thacker 3 0 0-0 6, Karson Frecka 4 0 1-1 9. Totals: 26 4 6-7 62. Rebounds: 14 (Frecka 6, Kazee 4, Kerns 2). Assists: 9 (Kerns 2, Perkins 2, Thacker 2). Turnovers: 6. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.