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Dallas Burelison skies over two Bethel defenders for two of his 13 points.
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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*Twin Valley South
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9-2
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17-3
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*Franklin Monroe
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9-2
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16-4
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*National Trail
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9-2
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15-5
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*Tri-Village
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9-2
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14-6
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Ansonia
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7-4
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10-10
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Tri-County North
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6-5
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12-8
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Mississinawa Valley
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4-7
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8-12
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Arcanum
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4-7
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7-13
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Newton
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4-7
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5-15
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Covington
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3-7
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3-17
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Bethel
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2-9
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3-17
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Bradford
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0-11
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0-20
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January 24, 2003 – BETHEL
Last year when the Covington Buccaneers and Bethel Bees faced each other, there wasn't an empty seat to be found as many fans were turned away at the door. Both teams were in the running for the conference championship and both featured high profile players that are now playing college basketball, Matt Witt and Jason Meyer. The game one year ago was a classic as Witt scored 39, Meyer scored 33 and Bethel squeaked by the Buccs 68-64.
The 2003 version of the Covington vs Bethel matchup didn't have any fans scrambling to find a seat or high profile players, but it did have plenty of excitement, especially for Buccaneer fans.
Covington ended an eleven-game losing streak with a hard fought 47-36 victory over the Bees in the Bethel Beehive. They won with the same recipe they've used all season, aggressiveness and defense.
"They just outhustled us and played more physical than us," commented Bethel coach Mark Harden. "They executed better and did the things they wanted to do. They would run off six to eight screens in a set and get a layup and then we'd throw two or three passes and take a shot. That was the difference. They just executed better."
The Buccs jumped on Bethel early and never trailed throughout the contest. Matt McCord got things started with a layup and Dallas Burelison followed with a jumper to give Covington an early 4-0 lead. Bethel closed the gap to 6-4 midway through the first period on a layup by Brett Knopp and another by Ryan Masin. The Buccs then extended their lead to 11-6 at the end of the period on jumpers by Burelison and Mohler and a free throw by McCord.
Covington appeared to be on their way to breaking the game open in the second as they built a ten-point lead with 1:14 left in the half. Burelison canned two jumpers to start the period while Dustin Kimmel, Mohler and McCord chipped in for 5 straight Buccaneer points to give the Buccs a 20-10 lead.
Bethel cut the lead to 20-15 at the half on a Daniel Rook 3-pointer and two free throws by Kevin Shoup.
The Bees cut into the Buccaneer lead again early in the third as Shoup and Knopp knocked down jumpers to make the score 20-19. That would be as close as Bethel would get, however, as the Buccs went on a 12-4 run to end the third. Dusty Rhoades drilled two straight 3-pointers and Matt McCord connected on two baskets in the Buccs' run.
"Dusty Rhoades had a really nice game," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "Those were two big baskets for us. He stepped up and made the shots when we needed them."
Trailing 32-23 to start the fourth period, Bethel again would fight their way back. The Bees cut the Buccaneer lead to 36-30 and forced Covington to call a timeout with 5:11 to go in the game.
The Buccs responded as Dallas Burelison snuck in for a layup and followed up with two free throws to put the Buccs up 40-30 with 4:06 left.
Bethel's Brett Knopp and Mike Taylor responded with four straight points to get the Bees within six points, but it was too little, too late as the Buccs cruised to a 42-36 victory.
"I'm so happy for the kids," mentioned coach Craft. "They have fought through so much adversity this year and to finally get a win, it feels good. They played very well together and deserve this win."
For the Bees, it was a tough loss, but one that coach Harden gives credit where credit is due.
"I told the kids before the game that Covington is playing well and they are," said coach Harden. "We looked lost. I think we kind of got caught up in how big of a game this was for us and didn't execute. I give them credit because they guarded us well and made it tough to run our offense."
Matt McCord led all scorers with 17 points and grabbed a team high 6 rebounds. Dallas Burelison chipped in 13 points and Dusty Rhoades contributed with 9 points.
For the Bees, Brett Knopp led the charge with 9 points and Ryan Masin pulled down a game-high 7 rebounds.
The Buccs improve to 3-12 on the season and host Triad tomorrow night.
Buccaneer Scoring:
Matt McCord – 17
Dallas Burelison – 13
Dusty Rhoades – 9
Ross Mohler – 3
Darin Rhoades – 3
Dustin Kimmel – 2
Bethel Scoring:
Brett Knopp – 9
Kevin Shoup – 6
Zack Jones – 3
Daniel Rook – 2
Ryan Masin – 7
Silas Burke – 7
Mike Taylor – 2
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington........11......20......32.......47
Bethel...............6......15......23.......36
