With nine days off between games, you would excuse the San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball team if they showed a little rust as they opened conference play Saturday afternoon against the Chaffey College Panthers.

But it didn't take long for the Wolverines to shake off the cobwebs, and then turned on the jets in the second half en route to a 87-54 victory over Chaffey in SBVC's Inland Empire Athletic Conference opener. 

The Panthers got out to an early lead, leading by as many as six early on, and was able to hold on to the lead most of the way through the first half. But with four minutes remaining in the half, the Wolverines stepped up. Brandon Thompson's 3-pointer started a 12-2 run over the last four minutes of the first half, sending SBVC to the locker room with a 36-28 lead.

A 7-0 run early in the second half opened up a 14-point lead for SBVC, and the Wolverines got hot from the field, hitting on 63 percent of their shots in the second half. Meanwhile, the Wolverins' defense was stifling the Panthers, as Chaffey only made 34 percent of its shots in the game. SBVC made 53.6 percent of its shots in the game.

Dominique Daniels led the way for SBVC, scoring 22 points, while Brandon Thompson had 16 points. Kendall Collins had a double-double off the bench, scoring 13 points while dishing out 11 assists. Tynerion Jackson also contributed off the bench with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Chaffey was led by Chijindu Egeonu, who had 11 points. 

SBVC returns home Jan. 5 to take on College of the Desert at 7 p.m.