COAL GROVE - In the first half, the Chesapeake Panthers would have missed if they tried to throw the basketball in the ocean.

The second half was more like a day at the beach.

Leading by just seven points at halftime, Chesapeake came to life in the second half and went on to beat the Coal Grove Hornets 75-39 Tuesday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

"We missed layups and five-footers. Nothing would go in," Panthers coach Norm Persin said. "We never play well (at Coal Grove). But to play terrible early and still win like we did, we'll take it."

Trent Finley had 19 points and Daniel Thompson 12 points to lead the unbeaten Panthers, 8-0 and 2-0 in the OVC. P.J. Rase scored all 11 of his points in the second half and Greg Boster added 10 points.

Tommy Pemberton had 14 points to lead the Hornets (4-3, 0-1). Brandon Rymer and Tyler Sexton added eight points each for Coal Grove.

Permberton got six points in the first quarter as Coal Grove took a 14-13 lead.

Thompson came back to score eight points in the second quarter as Chesapeake took a 28-21 halftime lead.

Chesapeake came alive in the third quarter by outscoring Coal Grove 18-4 in the third quarter to take a 46-25 lead as Finley and Rase had seven points each.

"Finley played pretty consistent all the way through. You can't concentrate on one or two. We have four or five who can score," Persin said.

Boster came off the bench to get all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Chesapeake reserves scored 29 points.

"I was disappointed in the way we rebounded. We're capable of rebounding much better," Hornets coach Darrell Humphreys said. "We played hard, but we got anxious the second half and made some poor decisions and Chesapeake capitalized on it. That's the mark of a good team."

Chesapeake13151829-75

Coal Grove147414-39

CHESAPEAKE (8-0, 2-0):

Zach Morrison 0 0 2-2 2, Brennan Hall 3 0 3-4 9, Dustin O'Brien 1 0 0-0 2, Daniel Thompson 5 0 2-2 12, Justin Porter 0 0 2-2 2, P.J. Rase 5 0 1-1 11, Jeffrey Thornburg 1 0 0-0 2, Trent Finley 5 1 6-7 19, Greg Boster 4 0 2-4 10, Andy Stapleton 3 0 0-0 6, Jeremy Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Mike Stapleton 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27

(1)

18-22

75. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.

COAL GROVE (4-3, 0-1):

Shane Bridges 2 0 0-0 4, Brandon Rymer 4 0 0-0 8, Evan Melvin 1 0 2-2 4, Justin Hyland 0 0 0-0 0, Aaron Fields 0 0 1-2 1, Tyler Sexton 3 0 2-4 8, Tommy Pemberton 5 0 4-6 14, Jimmy Lemon 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15

(0)

9-14

39. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.