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| Richard Canan converts a steal into a lay-up in the Buccs' win. |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Covington
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10-1
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16-4
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Bethel
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10-1
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15-5
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Tri-Village
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9-2
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13-7
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Twin Valley South
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8-3
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15-5
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Arcanum
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8-3
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15-5
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Newton
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5-6
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7-13
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Ansonia
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5-6
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8-12
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Franklin Monroe
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4-7
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5-15
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Mississinawa Valley
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3-8
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6-14
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Tri-County North
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3-8
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6-14
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National Trail
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1-10
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1-19
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Bradford
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0-11
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1-19
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January 17, 2005 – ANSONIA
Over the past three years the Covington Buccaneers and Ansonia Tigers have been battling out for the top spot in the Cross County Conference. Unfortunately for Covington, the Tigers had won the last two meetings and eventually the conference title in each of the past two seasons.
So, even with Covington coming into Tuesday's contest with a 5-0 record in the conference and Ansonia holding a 2-4 conference record, the Buccaneers knew they were heading into hostile territory. A match-up with Covington brings out the best in any team, especially Ansonia.
The host Tigers did give Covington its best and it was nearly enough for an upset victory, but the Buccs weathered the storm and made enough plays in the end to capture a 58-54 victory.
"They (Ansonia) came ready to play tonight," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "Everyone circles Covington on their schedule and we see everyone's best. They came out with more intensity then us in the first half, but our kids picked it up in the second half and made the plays when we needed them."
The Ansonia faithful was a loud as every to start the contest, but became even louder when Tyler Runner drilled a trey for the first points of the game. From that point on, Covington was not only playing against a motivated foe, but a crowd that was giving the host Tigers the energy and emotion they needed to give the Buccs fits.
"Their crowd was loud," said Craft. "But, our kids have been in this situation before and the experience we have made a difference. Ansonia is a young team and they played with emotion, but our experience carried us through."
The shots that normally fall for Covington didn't fall Tuesday as the Buccs only connected on 2 of 10 treys on the night.
The shooting struggles were evident early as the Buccs were on the short end of a 27-26 score at the half.
"We didn't shoot particularly well in the first half," described Craft. "They presented us with some match-up problems as well. They had their big man bringing the ball up the floor and with their quickness, it took us a while to adjust."
Covington came out more animated in the second half as it took a 30-29 lead on a Darin Rhoades jumper and a Richard Canan lay-up off of a Seth Mohler steal.
However, Ansonia matched the Buccs point-for-point and received two treys in the stanza to stay within striking distance, 42-41 with one period to play.
The Buccs increased their lead to 46-43 on a free throw and a trey by Richard Canan in the opening minute of the final stanza.
Covington then pushed the lead to five on two free throws by Darin Rhoades, but the Tigers wouldn't go away.
The emotion the Tigers were playing with eventually hit its maximum as they managed to tie the score at 52-52 with 2:58 left in the game thanks to a trey by Eric Beisner and four straight free throws.
Dusty Kimmel responded for the Buccs with a short jumper, but two free throws by Logan Beam tied the score again with 2:05 left in the contest.
Over the next 90 seconds, neither team could find the bottom of the net until Gene Studebaker was fouled and sank one of two free throws to give the Buccs a 55-54 lead with 45.2 seconds left on the clock.
Looking to steal a win, the Tigers turned the ball over on a traveling violation to hand the ball back to the Buccs with 28.9 seconds left.
Seth Mohler was immediately fouled on the in-bounds pass and canned two straight free throws to make the score 57-54 with 20.5 left in the game, which resulted in Ansonia's final timeout of the game.
The Tigers then attempted a game-tying trey, but the shot was off the mark and ended up in Richard Canan's hands. Canan immediately found Dusty Kimmel down the middle of the floor and the 6'4" senior was fouled while attempting a lay-up at the other end.
Kimmel converted on the first of two free throws to seal the 58-54 win for the Buccs.
"Our defense stepped up down the stretch," said Craft. "We made an adjustment and let Kimmel roam on defense in the final minutes. This prevented them from getting the back door cuts to the basket. We also made the free throws down the stretch."
Despite their shooting struggles, the Buccs received a balanced offensive performance as three players scored in double figures. Darin Rhoades led the way with 15 points, while Gene Studebaker and Dusty Kimmel contributed with 13 and 10 points respectively. Kimmel also pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds, while Richard Canan recorded 7 assists.
Ansonia received solid efforts from Eric Beisner and Logan Beam. Beisner led all players with a game-high 20 points, while Beam dropped in 17 points.
The Tigers also held a slim edge on the boards by pulling down 24 rebounds to Covington's 22, but the Buccs held the edge in turnovers by forcing 12 and committing 10.
Ansonia was one shot of being perfect from the free throw line as it connected on 17 of 18 attempts. Covington converted on 10 of 15 free throws.
The Buccs struggled from behind the arc by making just 2 of 10 shots, while Ansonia connected on 5 of 13 attempts.
In the most important statistic of the night, the Buccs improve to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the CCC, while Ansonia drops to 5-7 and 2-5 in league play.
"We'll take a win on the road anytime we can get it," concluded Craft. "I'm proud of how the kids hung in there and made things happened when things were not going our way."
Covington is back in action on Friday with a long road trip to National Trail.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ........14...........26.......42........58
Ansonia ............13..........27........41........54
Covington Scoring:
Darin Rhoades – 15
Gene Studebaker – 13
Dusty Kimmel – 10
Richard Canan – 8
Seth Mohler – 8
Corey Sprankle – 2
Nick Meyer – 2
Ansonia Scoring:
Beisner – 20
Beam – 17
McEldowney – 7
Runner – 5
Barga – 3
Brown – 2
Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Canan (2)
Ansonia: Beisner (2), Beam (1), Barga (1)
Reserve Score:
Covington 46, Ansonia 17
