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| Gene Studebaker drives for two points for the Buccs. |
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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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February 3, 2006 – COVINGTON
The Covington Buccaneers suffered it's first loss in Cross County Conference play Friday as the Bethel Bees came to town and shocked the Buccs, 52-43.
"We played hard, but the shots just were not falling tonight," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "Sure, we're disappointed, but we have to put this one behind us and move on and play well tomorrow night against Miami East."
The tone of the game was set by the Bethel crowd from the outset. The Bees' fans were loud, stood throughout the contest and the Bees seemed to feed off of their crowd.
"Their fans were into it," said Craft. "This was their biggest game of the season and they were pumped up. We just didn't give our crowd much to cheer about because the shots we normally make were not falling tonight."
Bethel started the scoring with a short jumper by Mike Kley, but Covington responded with a basket by Dusty Kimmel and a jumper by Richard Canan to take a 4-2 lead.
After a pair of free throws by Bethel's Tony Phillips tied the score, Gene Studebaker gave scored on a lay-up to put the Buccs up 6-4 midway through the stanza.
Phillips got the Bees' fans going with a trey and Bethel used the momentum to take a 13-11 lead at the end of the first.
Covington appeared to be taking over the contest as it scored seven straight points to open the second.
Darin Rhoades got the Buccs started with a jumper and two straight free throws, while Seth Mohler snuck inside for an easy basket and Gene Studebaker canned one of two free throws to make the score 18-13.
The rest of the half way back and forth as neither team could take the advantage as Covington retained a five-point lead at the half, 25-20.
In previous close games this season Covington has managed to pull away in the third quarter, but Bethel turned the tables by outscoring Covington 12-8 in the stanza to cut the margin to 33-32 with one period to play.
The Buccs, who made just seven of 26 shots in the paint all night, couldn't buy a basket in the first 4:11 of the final period. Bethel took advantage by scoring 10 straight points, six coming from Tony Phillips, to take a 42-33 lead.
Covington finally hit its first basket of the final period on a short jumper by Gene Studebaker, which got the Buccs rolling.
Covington managed to cut the margin to 48-43 on a huge trey by Darin Rhoades with 1:07 left in the game, but Bethel scored the final four points of the contest to take a nine-point win.
"When you shoot as poorly as we did inside the paint, that's hard to overcome," said Craft. "They didn't do anything special that gave us problems. They put the ball in the basket and we didn't. That's the difference in the game."
Covington dominated the boards by grabbing 35 rebounds to Bethel's 17, but Covington only converted on 2 of 18 treys and 7 of 26 from inside the paint. Bethel connected on 3 of 5 treys and held a significant edge on the free throw line by making 18 of 29 to Covington's 10 of 17.
Bethel's Tony Phillips led all scorers with a game high 24 points, while Darin Rhoades led Covington with 18 points. No other player scored in double digits in the contest.
"I'm so proud of these kids for everything they have overcome to get to where they are now," said Bethel coach Chris Endres. "I'm the third coach these kids have had in high school, but they have bought into what we are teaching and have come together as a team. This is a big win for us. They (Covington) have some great shooters with four guys averaging in double figures, but the kids took on the challenge and came out victorious."
The win by Bethel forces a four-way tie in Cross County Conference play with Covington, Bethel, Twin Valley South and Tri-Village all sporting one loss. Bethel still has Twin Valley South and Tri-Village left on its schedule, while Covington host Twin Valley South next week.
Covington, 13-3 overall and 8-1 in the CCC, looks to rebound Saturday as Miami East comes to town in non-conference action, while Bethel, 11-4 overall and 7-1 in conference play, travels to Miami Valley on Saturday.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington .............11......25......33..........43
Bethel ....................13......20......32..........52
Covington Scoring:
Darin Rhoades - 18
Seth Mohler - 7
Dusty Kimmel - 6
Gene Studebaker - 5
Richard Canan - 4
Nick Meyer - 2
Bethel Scoring:
Tony Phillips - 24
Brian Muse - 8
Mike Kley - 7
Mitchelle Elam - 7
Dusty Watson - 4
Clayton Shrunk – 2
Three-Point Shooting:
Covington: Darin Rhoades (2)
Bethel: Tony Phillips (2)
