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| Derek Brumbaugh came off the bench to give the Buccs a spark. |
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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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December 27, 2005 – COVINGTON
High school basketball was at its highest form Tuesday night at Covington High School as two unbeaten teams hooked up in a thrilling contest that went into overtime, much to the delight of a packed gymnasium. In the end, the Russia Raiders escaped with a 70-63 victory over the host Buccaneers.
"This (the atmosphere) was fun to play in," said Russia coach Paul Bremigan. "We had a lot of fan support and Covington did as well. It was an exciting game."
Despite suffering the first loss of the season, Covington coach Roger Craft was excited about the game and the atmosphere as well.
"This was a great game," said Craft. "Unfortunately someone had to lose, but you can't ask for anymore effort than the kids gave tonight."
The contest was close throughout with the largest lead by either team being nine points. Every time one team would make a run, the other would retaliate with a big shot to end any momentum.
Covington surged out to a 9-6 lead on a pair of baskets by Dusty Kimmel, a trey by Darin Rhoades and a put back by Seth Mohler.
Russia responded by taking a 17-15 lead by the end of the first, sparked by a long range trey by Luke Cordonnier. To make matters worse for Covington, Dusty Kimmel picked up two quick fouls and was forced to the bench to open the second period.
Brent Pleiman took advantage of Kimmel's absence by scoring 10 of Russia's first 12 points of the second period to increase the Raiders' lead to 28-22.
Kimmel returned to the game and scored on a short jumper and Darin Rhoades cut the margin to 28-26 on a runner.
In what became a trend for the contest, after Covington closed the gap Russia would nail a big shot to kill the momentum. This time Luke Cordonnier launched a second trey to push the lead to 31-26.
Covington battled right back to close the gap to 31-30 on a pair of free throws by Rhoades and a lay-up by Seth Mohler.
Again, Russia hit a long range trey, this time by Cody Anthony to make the score 34-30. The Raiders then closed out the half with a jumper by sophomore Andy Zumberger to increase the lead to 36-30 at the half.
"The kids made some big shots when we needed them," said Bremigan. "Pleiman was drawing a lot of attention, which opened up some shots from the perimeter."
Russia extended its lead to 41-32 in the opening moments of the third on a short jumper and another trey by Cordonnier.
Covington gradually chipped into the lead as Gene Studebaker converted on a three-point play the hard way, Seth Mohler and Richard Canan each connected on a pair of baskets and Derek Brumbaugh came off the bench to hit on a 10 footer.
Once again, Russia responded with a big shot as Colin Puthoff connected on a three-pointer to make the score 48-45 in Russia's favor with one period to play.
The Raiders again jumped out quickly to start the fourth with six straight points on a pair of baskets by Zumberger and two free throws by Cordonnier to increase the lead to 54-45.
Covington responded with two baskets by Brumbaugh, a three-pointer and a runner by Richard Canan, and two free throws by Rhoades to tie the score at 56-56 with 2:41 left. However, in the process Kimmel, Mohler and Studebaker each picked up their fourth fouls and the Buccs missed on two free throws, one on the front end of a one-and-one.
"Missing those free throws really hurt," said Craft. "We had our chances, but things didn't go our way. It wasn't because of a lack of effort though."
Pleiman then snuck in the back door for a lay-up to give Russia the lead again at 58-56.
Studebaker then gave Covington its first lead since the opening minutes of the first quarter by scoring on a lay-up and connecting on his free throw after drawing the foul.
Russia had its chance to steal a win in regulation at the free throw line, but Cordonnier only connected on one of two send the game into overtime tied at 59-59.
As they have done throughout the contest, the Raiders connected on another big shot to open the overtime.
Puthoff was left open and drilled a trey in the opening seconds of the extra period. Then, Justin York scored on a put back to increase the lead to 64-59.
Covington continued to battle back as Studebaker converted on his third three-point play of the game to cut the margin to 64-62.
Zumberger responded with a short jumper to push the lead to 66-62 before Dusty Kimmel connected on one of two free throws to cut the margin to three.
With time on its side, Russia took its time running the offense, forcing Covington to chase the ball. The Buccs nearly forced the turnover, but Studebaker was called for his fifth foul.
Russia then converted on four straight free throws to close out the contest and remain unbeaten with a 70-63 win.
"Making those two baskets to start the overtime was big," said Bremigan. "In a four-minute period, when you score quickly like that it really puts pressure on the other team."
Russia had four players score in double figures as Luke Cordonnier led the way with 17 points. Pleiman dropped in 15 points, while Zumberger and York contributed with 11 and 10 respectively.
Covington was led by Darin Rhoades with 17 points and Gene Studebaker with 16 points.
Russia held a 26-20 edge on the boards, while Covington forced 9 turnovers and committed just 7 turnovers.
Covington struggled from behind the arch, connecting on 3 of 16 attempts, while Russia converted on 6 of 18 three-pointers.
Russia held a significant edge at the free throw line, converting on 18 of 25 attempts to Covington's 8 of 13 attempts.
Despite the loss, Roger Craft was proud of the play of his kids.
"The effort the kids gave tonight was outstanding," concluded Craft. "Brummy (Derek Brumbaugh) came off the bench and gave us some nice minutes, Nick (Meyer) gave us a great defensive effort, and Corey (Sprankle) gave us seven or eight solid minutes despite being sick all week. You can't ask for a better effort from all of the kids and I'm sure it was exciting for the fans to watch. Everyone got their moneys worth tonight."
The Buccs drop to 5-1 on the season and host Marion Local on Friday, while Russia improves to 6-0 and hosts Fairlawn on Friday.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington .......15..........30......45......59......63
Russia .............17..........36......48......59......70
Covington Scoring:
Darin Rhoades – 17
Gene Studebaker – 16
Seth Mohler – 8
Richard Canan – 7
Dusty Kimmel – 7
Derek Brumbaugh – 6
Russia Scoring:
Luke Cordonnier – 17
Brent Pleiman – 15
Andy Zumberher – 11
Adam York – 10
Colin Puthoff – 8
Chett Borchers – 4
Cody Anthony – 3
Brook Shafer – 2
