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| Gene Studebaker had a dominating night with 26 points and 8 rebounds. |
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| Jordy Burelison came off the bench to give the Buccs 5 points and valuable minutes. |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Covington
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10-2
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13-7
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Newton
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10-2
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15-5
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Mississinawa Valley
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9-3
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11-9
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Twin Valley South
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8-4
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13-7
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Tri-Village
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8-4
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11-9
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Arcanum
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7-5
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12-8
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Ansonia
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7-5
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11-9
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Franklin Monroe
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5-7
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9-10
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Bethel
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5-7
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9-11
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| Miami East |
4-8 |
5-15 |
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Tri-County North
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3-9
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4-16
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National Trail
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1-11
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1-19
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Bradford
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0-12
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1-19
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December 19, 2006 – COVINGTON
When Covington and Bethel hook up in just about any sport, the stakes are usually high. That's because each school has teams near the top of the Cross County Conference standings virtually every year.
It has become one of the most heated rivalries in Miami County, making for some exciting contests. Tuesday's game was no different as both teams battled back and forth until a 27-point fourth period surge by Covington gave the Buccs a 66-44 win.
The victory was a source of redemption for the Buccs after dropping two straight games and the memory of last year's loss to the Bees fresh in their minds.
"The loss last year to them (Bethel) was a bitter one," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "It was our only league loss and they beat us on our home floor. We had plenty of incentive to come ready to play tonight."
Gene Studebaker, who led the Buccs with a game-high 26 points agreed.
"It (last year's loss to Bethel) was in the back of our minds," said Studebaker explained. "We also wanted to regroup and come back strong from last week."
Regroup they did.
Covington connected on 25 of 49 two-point field goals for 51% and shot 5 of 12 from behind the arc for 42%. Top top it off, the Buccs had a stellar night from the free throw line, shooting 84% on 11 of 13 attempts.
On the flip side, Bethel struggled offensively, connecting on 14 of 39 from the field (36%), 5 of 18 from behind the arc (28%) and 11 of 20 from the line (55%).
The Bees also committed 17 turnovers.
"We didn't shoot well enough and we didn't take care of the ball," described Bethel coach Chris Endres. "They (Covington) just outplayed us tonight."
Still, Bethel showcased why they are a very talented team.
"Bethel is a very good basketball team," Craft praised. "Phillips, Kley and Muse are great players and they have a lot of other athletes who contribute. We knew this would be a tough game and it was."
Covington jumped out to an early lead Studebaker drilled two straight treys on consecutive possessions. The senior then accounted for 11 of Covington's 13 first period points, while Brian Muse scored seven of Bethel's 13 first period in the opening stanza.
Covington opened the second quarter with a free throw by Mohler and a put-back by Studebaker to take a 16-13 lead.
But Bethel outscored the Buccs 10-5 over the remainder of the half to take a 23-21 lead at the break.
Studebaker began the second half with a jumper to tie the score, but Mike Kley responded with a trey to maintain a three-point lead for the Bees.
Seth Mohler then tied the score up again with a three-point play and Studebaker followed with his third trey of the game to put the Buccs up 29-26 midway through the period.
Bethel came back to close the gap to 31-30 on a Kley free throw and a three-pointer from Tony Phillips, but that was as close as they Bees would come the rest of the way.
Covington closed out the third on an 8-2 run on a basket by Mohler, a six straight points by Corey Patty, including a three-pointer.
"It's nice to see Corey getting healthy again," said Craft. "He hit some big shots there at the end of the third to give us some momentum down the stretch."
Covington used the momentum to outscore Bethel 27-12 in the final 8:00.
The Buccaneers received a big fourth quarter performance from Derek Brumbaugh, who scored all 11 of his points in the stanza.
But, at the end of the day it was Studebaker who stole the show. The senior not only scored a game-high 26 points, he pulled down 8 rebounds.
"Studebaker is a heck of an athlete," Endres complimented. "Covington is known for having great athletes and he's one of them."
Knowing Studebaker wasn't fully healthy to begin the season, Craft is pleased to receive a performance like that by one of his senior leaders.
"Gene's very capable of doing what he did tonight on any given night," Craft said. "He's capable of taking over a game, but his best asset is getting everyone else involved - like he did tonight. He not only shot the ball well, he made some nice passes. A lot of people don't notice the little things, but we (the coaching staff) sure do."
Craft was also please with his bench play.
"The guys off the bench came in and gave us a spark in the second half," said Craft. "Kyle Simon came in and played really well and Jordy Burelison hit some big shots. It was good to see our bench players come in and perform like that."
As disappointing as the defeat is for Bethel, it is early in the season and there is a lot of basketball ahead. With the talent they have on the roster, one conference loss doesn't knock them out of the hunt for a league title.
"Anybody can beat anybody on any given night," Endres said. "Last year we beat Covington and Arcanum beat us, so we shared the league title. That's still a goal of ours. We have a lot of basketball ahead of us."
With the victory, Covington improves to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the CCC. Bethel falls to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Scoring by Quarters:
Bethel ..............13........23..........32.........44
Covington .......13........21..........39.........66
Covington Scoring:
Studebaker - 26
Brumbaugh – 11
Patty - 10
Mohler - 10
Burelison - 5
Simon - 4
Bethel Scoring:
Muse - 20
Phillips - 11
Kley - 10
Mangan - 2
Risner - 1
Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Studebaker (3), Patty (1), Burelison (1)
Bethel: Kley (3), Phillips (2)
