Untitled Page
 |
|
Dusty Rhoades lets go of a pass during the Buccs' loss at Mississinawa.
|
|
|
Untitled Page
|
Untitled Page
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Team
|
CCC
|
ALL
|
|
*Twin Valley South
|
9-2
|
17-3
|
|
*Franklin Monroe
|
9-2
|
16-4
|
|
*National Trail
|
9-2
|
15-5
|
|
*Tri-Village
|
9-2
|
14-6
|
|
Ansonia
|
7-4
|
10-10
|
|
Tri-County North
|
6-5
|
12-8
|
|
Mississinawa Valley
|
4-7
|
8-12
|
|
Arcanum
|
4-7
|
7-13
|
|
Newton
|
4-7
|
5-15
|
|
Covington
|
3-7
|
3-17
|
|
Bethel
|
2-9
|
3-17
|
|
Bradford
|
0-11
|
0-20
|
|
|
|
|
January 2, 2003 – NEWTON
The Newton Indians used a strong second half of basketball to pull away from the Covington Buccaneers for a 51-32 victory and extend Covington's losing streak to six games.
"This is a great win for our program," commented a delighted Newton coach, Doug Durnham. "I've been here for three years and we've never beaten them (Covington) until now. I know they graduated a lot from last year's team, but so did we. I told the kids that if we scored 60 points, we'd win. Well, we got to 50 and we won. This was a big, big win for us."
What was big for the Indians was a 12-point run to start the third period. Leading 16-12 at halftime, the Indians found the hot hand while the Buccs went cold from the field. The result was a 34-12 lead midway through the period and momentum the Indians wouldn't relinquish.
"We had a slow first half," continued coach Durnham. "They came out in a defensive set that kind of threw us off a little, but we made the adjustments in the second half."
Covington used a strong defense to keep the game low-scoring early. Neither team could find much success offensively in the first period as each team scored a combined 11 points.
The second period was much of the same, but Newton was able to increase their lead to 4 points by halftime.
The strong second half for the Indians was a result of defensive pressure, turnovers and points in transition. Covington had trouble handling the ball, a problem that has plagued the Buccaneers throughout the season.
The Buccaneers committed 26 turnovers and Newton took advantage by outscoring the Buccs 35-20 in the second half.
"We are struggling right now and not playing good basketball," said Covington coach, Roger Craft. "Defensively we are fine, but offensively we are tentative. We just don't take the ball to the basket on a consistent basis. Things are rough on the kids right now, but they'll bounce back. We'll keep plugging away and get there together."
Newton's Andrew Prickett finished with a game-high 15 points and was the only player from either team in double figures. Matt McCord led the Buccs with 9 points while Ross Mohler pulled down 7 rebounds.
Covington drops to 2-7 on the season while Newton improves to 4-5. Covington hosts Milton Union on Saturday with junior varsity action starting at 6:30 pm.
Covington Scoring:
Matt McCord – 9
Dallas Burelison – 3
Darin Rhoades – 5
Ross Mohler – 6
Tyler Moore – 2
T.J. Warner – 4
Matt Maier – 3
Total: 32
Newton Scoring:
Jeremey Kettering – 8
Ryan Van Culin – 8
Stephen Hickey – 8
Andrew Pricket – 15
Matt Koopman – 8
Jordan Schmidt – 4
Total: 51
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington......5....12....22....32
Newton..........6....16....35....51
Reserves: Covington 67, Newton 42
