Darin Rhoades and the Buccs had reason to celebrate with the C Block as the Buccs captured a share of the CCC title with a 53-31 win over Tri-County North.

Dusty Kimmel recorded a double-double in the Buccs' big win.

The C Block came out in full force to support the Buccs.

2005-06 Season Preview 2005-06 Covington Buccaneers 2005-06 Buccaneer Cheerleaders

12/3/05 12/9/05 12/10/05 12/16/05 12/23/05 12/27/05 12/30/05 1/6/06 1/7/06 1/13/06 1/17/06 1/20/06 1/21/06 1/27/06 1/28/06 2/3/06 2/4/06 2/10/06 2/14/06 2/18/06 2/25/06 3/1/06 3/5/06 at Fairlawn at Bradford Versailles at Arcanum Mississinawa Valley Russia Marion Local at Franklin Monroe at Milton Union Newton at Ansonia at National Trail at New Bremen Tri-Village at Anna Bethel Miami East Twin Valley South Tri-County North at Tipp City vs Botkins (Piqua) vs Ft. Loramie (Piqua) vs Houston (Piqua) W 67-62 W 80-31 W 66-53 W 47-46 W 64-48 L 63-70 W 45-42 W 69-57 W 72-47 W 73-51 W 58-54 W 65-50 L 57-62 W 53-47 W 62-55 L 43-52 W 64-37 W 70-49 W 53-31 L 42-53 W 68-55 W 71-59 L 58-59 Team CCC ALL Covington 10-1 16-4 Bethel 10-1 15-5 Tri-Village 9-2 13-7 Twin Valley South 8-3 15-5 Arcanum 8-3 15-5 Newton 5-6 7-13 Ansonia 5-6 8-12 Franklin Monroe 4-7 5-15 Mississinawa Valley 3-8 6-14 Tri-County North 3-8 6-14 National Trail 1-10 1-19 Bradford 0-11 1-19

February 14, 2006 – COVINGTON
Five Buccaneer seniors played their final game in the Covington High School gymnasium Tuesday night and went out in style with a 53-31 win over Tri-County North to capture a share of the Cross County Conference title.

"Dusty (Kimmel), Darin (Rhoades), Richard (Canan), Nick (Meyer) and Cory (Sprankle) have meant so much to our program over the past four years," said Covington coach Roger Craft after a bitter-sweet victory. "They (the seniors) have spent so much time in this gym that it's hard to believe this was their last game here."

The Buccs began the contest with all five seniors on the floor and jumped out to an 11-2 run started with a lay-up by Dusty Kimmel. Darin Rhoades canned two jumpers, Richard Canan drilled a trey and Corey Sprankle dropped in a 12-footer.

The visiting Panthers came right back by scoring seven straight points to close out the first period with the Buccs holding a slim 11-9 lead.

Covington increased its lead to 23-15 by half time as Rhoades accounted for seven of the 12 points in the period, including a long range trey at the buzzer.

The Panthers went into the locker room looking to get a more balanced offensive attack as Mitch Hetsley accounted for 11 of North's 15 points in the first half.

The Buccaneers put the game away in the third period by outscoring Tri-County North 11-6 to take a 37-23 lead. Six of Covington's points in the third came on two Gene Studebaker three-pointers, while Rhoades and Kimmel accounted for the other five Covington points.

Covington continued its dominance in the final 8:00 as the senior class accounted for 12 of the Buccs' 16 points in the period. The final two points of the night came in grand fashion as senior Nick Meyer canned a jumper as the Covington faithful was chanting his name with under one minute to play.

"That (Nick's shot) was awesome," said Craft. "You couldn't have written the script any better. Gene (Studebaker) got him the ball on his favorite spot on the floor and he drilled the shot. Nick's such a great kid and we call him Big Dog because he does the bark before the game to get the kids pumped up. That was the perfect ending for the seniors."

Covington was led by Dusty Kimmel with a game-high 16 points and 14 rebounds, but it was Kimmel's defensive effort that drew coach Craft's praise.

"We were a little flat and I'm sure the kids were thinking about all of the memories they have had here rather than the game, but that's to be expected," said Craft. "Kimmel picked us up though. He had a double, double, but it was his defense that was outstanding. To hold (Mitch) Hetsley to just two points in the second half is just outstanding defense."

Two other Buccaneer players scored in double figures as Darin Rhoades dropped in 15 points and Gene Studebaker contributed with 10 points.

Covington held the edge on the boards with 28 rebounds to 22 for North. The Buccs also faired better in the turnover category by committing just 8 turnovers to 13 for the Panthers.

With the win Covington improves to 16-3 overall and finishes 10-1 in Cross County Conference play. The Buccs will share the CCC title with the winner of Tri-Village and Bethel this Friday.

Covington closes out the regular season on the road this Saturday against unbeaten Tipp City.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ..........11..........23........37........53
TC North ..............9..........15.........23........31

Covington Scoring:
Dusty Kimmel - 16
Darin Rhoades - 15
Gene Studebaker - 10
Richard Canan - 5
Corey Sprankle - 2
Nick Meyer - 2
Corey Patty - 2
Seth Mohler - 1

Tri-County North Scoring:
Mitch Hetsley - 13
Dan Baumbarger - 6
Pierce Putnam - 4
Ethan Blankenship 4
Matt Robinson - 2
Tyler Oldham - 2

Three-point Scoring:
Covington: Gene Studebaker (2), Richard Canan (1), Darin Rhoades (1)
Tri-County North: Mitch Hetsley (1)