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Dusty Kimmel led the Buccs with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
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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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December 18, 2004 – COVINGTON
The difference in victory and defeat for the Covington Buccaneers and the Tipp City Red Devils came down to one simple aspect of the game, free throw shooting.
Covington only connected on 2 of 11 free throws, while Tipp City made 15 of 29 attempts from the line. This disparity between the two teams was the difference in a 43-36 victory over the Buccs for the Red Devils.
"You can't shoot 2 of 11 from the line and expect to win," said Covington coach, Roger Craft. "Many of those missed free throws were on the front end of one-and-ones, which just killed us. If we make three or four of those, it's a different game."
Tipp City's coach, Matt Pond felt the same way.
"Free throw shooting was a big in this game," said Pond. "This is always a tough place to play and we were fortunate to come out of here with a win. We didn't shoot particularly well at the line, but we made them when we had to."
Covington opened the contest with a basket by Dusty Kimmel and eventually took a 10-6 lead with under 2:00 left in the opening stanza.
Tipp City took little time responding as Jordan Sharpe drilled two straight threes to give the Red Devils a 12-10 lead with 39 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Covington then tied the score at 12-12 as Gene Studebaker hit on a short jumper right before the buzzer.
The Covington defensive pressure gave Tipp City fits in the second stanza as the Buccs held Tipp without a field goal over the entire 8:00. The Red Devils only managed two points by halftime on a pair of Josh Sevitts free throws.
Covington couldn't get much going offensively either as Matt Pond's pressure defense prevents the Buccs from open looks at the basket. The Buccaneers only connected on two field goals in the stanza, a lay-up by Seth Mohler and a put-back by Dusty Kimmel.
At the half, Covington held a slim 16-14 lead despite 0-4 shooting from the always dangerous Darin Rhoades.
"We played great team defense tonight," said Pond. "Covington is a very dangerous team and Coach Craft always has his kids well prepared."
After another Jordan Sharpe trey to open the second half, the Buccs appeared to break the game open by scoring the next 10 points of the contest. Gene Studebaker scored on back-to-back baskets, Dusty Kimmel hit on a short jumper, Richard Canan scored on a lay-up, and then Studebaker snuck behind the Tipp defense for a lay-up to give Covington its largest lead of the contest, 24-17.
After a Tipp timeout, the Red Devils got right back into the game by going on an 8-2 run to close out the half.
The final period was a tale of missed opportunities for the Buccs.
After Tipp took a 29-28 lead on a Sharpe jumper, Covington misfired on six straight free throws, four coming on the front end of one-and-ones.
"Missing on the front end of one-and-ones hurt us down the stretch," said Craft. "To make matters worse, we didn't rebound very well down the stretch. We rebounded very well over most of the game, but it seemed like they always got the rebound from missed free throws."
The Red Devils took advantage by connecting on 9 of 16 free throws in the final 8:00.
Covington had three players foul out, including Darin Rhoades who left the game with 4:05 left and no points.
"Rhoades is a great player," said Pond. "He may not have scored, but he had a huge impact by getting his teammates involved. We did well to hold him to six shots and that's due to solid team defense."
Leading the way for Covington was Dusty Kimmel with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Tipp was led by Jordan Sharpe with 21 points and Mike Porto with 11 rebounds.
Covington held a 32-23 rebounding advantage.
"This is a big win over a really good team," said Pond. "Covington has played some great teams like Versailles, Fairlawn and Ansonia and they could have won those games, just like we could have lost this one. We are very fortunate to get a win like this in this gym. Every time we play Covington, it's tough."
With the win Tipp City improves to 7-0 on the season, while Covington drops to 3-4.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington .......12......16......26......36
Tipp City ..........12......14......25......43
Covington Scoring:
Dusty Kimmel – 14
Gene Studebaker – 11
Richard Canan – 5
Seth Mohler – 4
Tipp City Scoring:
Jordan Sharpe – 21
Kellen Zawadski – 8
Mike Porto – 6
Robert Goldsberry – 3
Josh Sevitts – 3
D. Strawser – 1
A. Kuns – 1
3-point Shooting:
Covington : 0
Tipp City: Sharpe – 4
