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Dusty Kimmel dominated on the inside with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
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| Darin Rhoades gets driven off balance on a shot attempt at the end of the first half. |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Ansonia
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10-1
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16-4
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Twin Valley South
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9-2
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15-5
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National Trail
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7-4
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14-6
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Franklin Monroe
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7-3
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10-8
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Covington
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7-4
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11-10
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Tri-Village
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6-5
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9-11
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Tri-County North
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5-6
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9-11
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Arcanum
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4-7
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9-11
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Bethel
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5-6
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8-12
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Newton
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2-9
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4-16
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Mississinawa Valley
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2-9
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4-16
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Bradford
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0-11
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0-20
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February 18, 2005 – PIQUA
The Covington Buccaneers saw their season come to an end in the opening round of the sectional tournament Friday night as top-seeded Jackson Center connected on a last second shot for a 55-53 win.
"I feel for the kids," said Covington coach, Roger Craft. "They put everything they had into this and to see the season come to an end like it did is frustrating."
Covington appeared primed to knock of the top seed heading into the final stanza with a 38-32 lead and a Gene Studebaker jumper to start the fourth.
But, Jackson Center scored seven unanswered points in less than 2:00 to cut the margin to 40-39. Shortly after, the Tigers took a 45-44 lead with 3:52 left in the game.
Covington took the lead right back on a Darin Rhoades jumper and two free throws by Studebaker to make the score 48-47.
The Tigers went on a short run again by scoring six straight points for their largest lead of the contest, 53-48 with under 2:00 to go.
Covington battled back again by tying the score at 53-53 with 1:08 left in the game with a Dusty Kimmel basket in heavy traffic, and a three-point play by Rhoades.
Jackson Center then ran nearly 1:07 off the clock before senior, Josh Patrick canned a ten-foot jumper to make the score 55-53 with 1.3 seconds left.
Covington attempted a pass to mid-court, but the pass was intercepted to end the game.
"We had our chances at the end, but things just didn't go our way," said Craft. "It wasn't for a lack of effort. Our kids played as hard as they could. Give Jackson Center credit. They made the plays in the end."
Both teams struggled in the early going as the game was deadlocked at 10-10 after one period of play.
Covington caught fire in the second as Dusty Kimmel scored the Buccs' first six points of the stanza to give Covington a 16-15 lead with 5:48 left in the half.
Covington then outscored the Tigers 10-4 over the remainder of the half as Darin Rhoades and Richard Canan both connected on treys. A Cory Sprankle basket right before the buzzer gave the Buccs a 26-19 cushion at the half.
Kimmel pushed the Buccaneer lead to 28-19 in the opening seconds of the second half, but Jackson Center was able to cut the margin to 32-28 moments later on a three-point play by Isaac Klopfenstein.
Seth Mohler and Richard Canan then converted in four straight free throws to push the lead back to eight, but two baskets by Jackson Center's Pat Shuff gave the Tigers some momentum and cut the margin to 36-32 with under 30 seconds left in the third.
Richard Canan took the momentum right back for the Buccs on a 15-foot jumper to close out the third and send the game to the final period with Covington holding a 38-32 lead.
All hopes of Covington advancing to the second round of the sectional came to an end as Jackson Center outscored the Buccs 23-15 in the final 8:00 to escape with the win.
Dusty Kimmel led Covington with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while both Richard Canan and Darin Rhoades dropped in 11 points. Gene Studebaker also had a big night pounding the boards as he matched Kimmel with 10 rebounds.
Covington held a 29-21 overall rebounding advantage and a 12-6 advantage on the offensive end.
Jackson Center held a slim advantage in the turnover department by committing 10 to Covington's 12 turnovers.
The Tigers also visited the free throw line more often with 16 attempts and converting 10. The Buccs connected on 8 of 12 free throws.
With the loss, Covington ends its season at 11-10.
Scoring by quarters:
Covington ...............10......26......38......53
Jackson Center......10......19......32......55
Covington Scoring:
Dusty Kimmel – 17
Richard Canan – 11
Darin Rhoades – 11
Seth Mohler – 6
Gene Studebaker – 6
Cory Sprankle – 2
Jackson Center Scoring:
Pat Shuff – 18
Isaac Klopfenstein – 18
Ryan Wical – 9
Josh Patrick – 6
Kevin Mann – 2
Cody Smith – 2
3-point Scoring:
Covington: Darin Rhoades (1), Richard Canan (1)
Jackson Center: Isaac Klopfenstein (2), Ryan Wical (1)
