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Senior, Matt Maier finished out his career by scoring the Buccaneers' final point in a memorable tournament run.
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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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February 28, 2003 – PIQUA
On this past December 27, the Russia Raiders manhandled the Covington Buccaneers for a 62-40 victory. Tonight, 3 months later, the two teams hooked up with the Sectional title at stake. Although the end result was the same, the game was much different then the first contest between the two teams.
The young Buccaneers put a huge scare into Russia's title hopes with constant defensive pressure and a much improved offensive attack. Russia just had too many weapons down the stretch for the Buccaneers to pull off the upset. In the end, the Raiders advanced in the tournament with a 55-47 victory in front of a loud audience at Piqua High school.
"I'm very proud of my kids," commented Covington coach, Roger Craft. "These kids have given everything they've had all year. We went through some tough times, but the kids stuck with the program and improved dramatically throughout the season. We have a bright future."
In the opening minutes of the contest, Russia appeared to be on their way to another easy victory. After a Matt McCord layup to start the game, the Raiders knocked down six straight points for a 6-2 lead with only 2:00 off of the clock.
As it has been all year for the Buccs, they never folded under the pressure. Covington went on a 10-2 run to take a 4-point lead with 1:30 left in the first. Covington extended their lead to 16-11 before Shane Borchers drilled a 3-pointer to close out the first quarter with the score 16-14 in the Buccs' favor.
Borchers struck again early in the second with two more 3-pointers to start a 15-0 run that put Russia up 29-16 midway through the second.
"That was a big momentum swing for them," described coach Craft. "Borchers got hot and we kind of let it get out of control. We called a timeout and refocused and the kids came out and got right back into the game."
Covington then went on a 10-0 run to close out the first half which brought the Covington faithful to their feet with a standing ovation as they walked off of the floor.
Trailing 29-26 to start the second half, the Buccs continued to apply defensive pressure to slow down Borchers and company.
Neither team could get any type of offensive consistency throughout the third period. Covington hit a 4:00 dry spell midway through the third, but Russia couldn't break through the Covington defense and put the game away. At the end of the period, Russia managed to increase their lead to 39-33, but the Buccs were still in the game.
The Buccs fell victim to costly turnovers and foul trouble in the fourth period. The Raiders benefited from a blocking foul and a technical foul on Ross Mohler which gave them four free throw attempts, plus the ball. Russia connected on 1 of 4 free throws and then followed with a layup to increase their lead to 43-33.
Again, the Buccs battled back and kept themselves within striking distance. Covington closed the gap to 51-45 with 2:00 to go, but that was as close as the Buccs would get. Russia connected on 4 straight free throws down the stretch to push their lead back to 10 points, 55-45. Matt Maier closed out the scoring with a layup to make the final score 55-47.
With the loss, Covington finishes the season with a 5-18 record, but coach Craft sees many bright spots out of the season, including the impact his lone senior had on his program.
"These kids never gave up," said Craft. "Our senior, Matt Maier, is an example of what this team is all about. He has been through the good times and bad, but he has stuck through it. Most seniors would have packed it in, especially with the losing record and playing with younger kids, but that's not Matt Maier. Matt has great character and will be sorely missed next year."
Covington Scoring:
Matt McCord – 17
Darin Rhoades – 12
Dusty Kimmel – 6
Dusty Rhoades – 5
Matt Maier – 4
Russia Scoring:
Borchers – 17
Francis – 12
Gill – 8
Puthoff – 6
Elsas – 5
Marchal – 5
Rosenbeck – 2
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington.......16......26.....33.....47
Russia............14......29.....39.....55
