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Ross Mohler puts up a shot for the Buccs.
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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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December 20, 2002 – COVINGTON
On-the-job training continued tonight for the Covington Buccaneers as they fell to a more experienced Franklin Monroe team. The Buccaneers' inexperienced showed with their difficulty breaking the full-court press and stopping Franklin Monroe on the break. The result was a 71-39 loss to extend the losing streak to three games.
"They just took it to us with their defensive pressure," described Covington coach Roger Craft. "We just couldn't beat their pressure and we continuously threw the ball away."
Franklin Monroe's pressure resulted in 15 Covington turnovers while only committing 3 of their own. The turnovers translated into easy scoring opportunities on the other end of the court, including a two-handed slam.
Franklin Monroe took control of the game from the opening tip. The Jets never gave Covington the opportunity to run their half-court offense as they kept the Buccs off balance with relentless pressure on the ball. Franklin Monroe challenged every pass and made it difficult for the Buccs to get the ball inside.
By the end of the first half, Franklin Monroe had built a commanding 31-16 lead after the Buccs closed within 7 points midway through the second period.
The Jets increased their lead to 48-24 at the end of the third and then exploded in the fourth.
While holding the Buccs to 15 fourth period points, Franklin Monroe was able to score 25 points of their own in the period. The Jets shot 70% from two-point range for the game and 30% from three-point range. They also converted 12 out of 18 attempts at the foul-line.
Covington, on the other hand, shot 41% from two-point range, 17% on three-point attempts and 9 of 12 from the line.
Dan Kiser led the Buccs with 13 points and Matt McCord chipped in 11 to give the Buccs two players in double figures.
Despite the Buccs' lackluster performance and their third straight defeat, coach Craft sees light at the end of the tunnel.
"We took a few steps back tonight, but these kids are resilient," said coach Craft. "People tend to forget that these are mostly 15 and 16 year old kids and they are still very young. They'll be back in practice and working hard to get better. We will get better because we have kids who love to play the game. We'll be just fine."
The Buccs fall to 2-2 in the CCC and 2-4 overall. They have a week to rest before they travel to battle last year's state runner-ups, Russia next Friday.
Scoring Covington:
Dusty Rhoades – 0
Dallas Burelison – 2
Darin Rhoades – 0
B.J. Barnes – 0
Richard Canan – 3
Ross Mohler – 0
Matt McCord – 11
Tyler Moore – 7
T.J. Warner – 0
Matt Maier – 3
Dan Kiser – 13
Scoring Franklin Monroe:
Bixier – 2
Pollard – 11
Swank – 8
Saulnier – 13
Halderman – 3
Inman – 3
Barnes – 9
Gray – 20
