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Darin Rhoades led the Buccs with 16 points on the night.
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Ansonia
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11-0
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18-2
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Covington
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10-1
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12-8
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National Trail
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9-2
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17-3
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Bethel
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4-4
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8-6
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Twin Valley South
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5-4
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9-6
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Newton
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4-4
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6-9
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Tri-Village
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4-4
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7-8
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Arcanum
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4-4
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6-9
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Tri-County North
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1-8
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2-13
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Franklin Monroe
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1-7
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5-10
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Mississinawa Valley
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2-5
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2-10
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Bradford
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0-11
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1-19
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December 30, 2003 – COVINGTON
In what seems to be a never ending saga for the Covington Buccaneers, free throw shooting continues to be their downfall. A 6 for 16 performance at the line cost the Buccs their third straight game, this time at the hands of Russia, 62-56.
"It's frustrating, especially for the kids" said Covington coach Roger Craft. "It's become a mental thing right now. We've been shooting extra free throws in practice, but we continue to struggle."
Despite their continued struggles at the line, the Buccs still had their opportunities to capture a win until the final moments of the game. Russia, however, put the game away by doing what Covington couldn't do, sink their free throws.
Russia connected on 21 of 27 free throws, including 13 of 16 in the final period.
Covington stormed out to a 10-5 lead early in the contest as Matt McCord, Brady Reck and Gene Studebaker found the bottom of the net. Russia's Jay Borchers cut the margin to 10-8 on his first of three 3-pointers on the night.
Covington pushed their lead to 15-10 with a basket by Ross Mohler and a trey by Dallas Burelison. Russia tied the score at 15-15 on a basket by Lee Rosenbeck and a 3-pointer by Joel Puthoff.
After a Russia turnover with .5 seconds to go in the first period, Covington's Matt McCord canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Buccs a 18-15 lead.
The Raiders went on a 10-2 run to open the second period, concluded by Borchers' second 3-pointer of the half. The shot put Borchers over 1,000 career points, which halted action and a standing ovation by both Covington and Russia fans.
Covington gradually cut into the Russia lead and by halftime, the Buccs trailed by only 1 point, 31-30. This despite only converting on 1 of 7 free throws in the first half.
Puthoff opened the second half by putting Russia up 35-30 with two straight baskets. Dustin Kimmel, Darin Rhoades and Matt McCord connected of three straight buckets for the Buccs to give Covington their final lead of the game, 36-35.
Russia closed out the third period with a 12-1 run to take back the lead for good, 47-37.
Covington tried getting back into the game in the final period and eventually cut the margin to 4 points with under 2:00 to go in the game, 58-54. Russia put the game away with 4 free throws in the final minute despite a basket by Covington's Gene Studebaker.
Russia's Jay Borchers led all scorers with 23 points, while Darin Rhoades led the Buccs with 16 points. Matt McCord dropped in 14 points and tied teammate Ross Mohler for a game high 8 rebounds.
Covington drops to 4-3 on the season and travels to Franklin Monroe on Friday. Game time has been moved up to 4:30pm to accommodate those who wish to see the live telecast of the Ohio State Buckeyes' football game.
Scoring by quarters:
Covington ......18......30.....37.....56
Russia............15.......31.....47.....62
Records: Covington 4-3, Russia 6-1
Covington Scoring:
Darin Rhoades – 16
Matt McCord – 14
Dustin Kimmel – 8
Gene Studebaker – 8
Brady Reck – 5
Dallas Burelison – 3
Ross Mohler – 2
Russia Scoring:
Jay Borchers – 23
Jordan Grogean – 11
Joel Puthoff – 9
Colin Foster – 8
Lee Rosenbeck – 7
Brent Pleiman – 4
