 |
| Gene Studebaker converts a steal into an easy lay-up. |
|
 |
| Brian Beckstedt came off the bench to drill two treys in the Buccs' win. |
|
|
Untitled Page
|
Untitled Page
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
Team
|
CCC
|
ALL
|
|
Covington
|
10-2
|
13-7
|
|
Newton
|
10-2
|
15-5
|
|
Mississinawa Valley
|
9-3
|
11-9
|
|
Twin Valley South
|
8-4
|
13-7
|
|
Tri-Village
|
8-4
|
11-9
|
|
Arcanum
|
7-5
|
12-8
|
|
Ansonia
|
7-5
|
11-9
|
|
Franklin Monroe
|
5-7
|
9-10
|
|
Bethel
|
5-7
|
9-11
|
| Miami East |
4-8 |
5-15 |
|
Tri-County North
|
3-9
|
4-16
|
|
National Trail
|
1-11
|
1-19
|
|
Bradford
|
0-12
|
1-19
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 30, 2007 – COVINGTON
The Covington Buccaneers and the Bradford Railroaders are two teams at different stages in the process of building a successful program.
Covington has traditionally been among the top teams in the Cross County Conference and came into Tuesday's rivalry match-up with Bradford riding a four-game winning streak.
Bradford has had four coaches in the past four years, each looking to turn the program into a winner. The Railroaders visited Covington as winners of one contest in 15 games this season.
The result wasn't unexpected as Covington controlled the action throughout en route to a 59-25 victory.
"Covington's a good team and they are peaking at the right time," said Bradford coach Jason Wood. "We're trying to build a program where we can compete with teams like that (Covington). I'm the fourth coach this senior class has had, so it takes time."
"Jason's trying to build a program and I saw some nice things from them," praised Covington coach Roger Craft. "They ran some back-door stuff that kept us off balance and made us adjust defensively. They did some nice things and I think they are headed in the right direction."
On this day, Covington just had too many weapons for a the Railroaders to deal with.
Ten Covington players scored on the evening with Gene Studebaker and Seth Mohler leading the way with 14 and 10 points respectively.
The Buccs held a significant advantage on the boards, pulling down 40 rebounds to just 21 for Bradford. But it was the offensive rebounds and turnovers that killed Bradford's chances of staying with the Buccs.
Covington force 24 Bradford turnovers and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.
"That's 44 possession where we gave them an extra chance at points," Wood explained. "That's been the story of our season. It's a matter of taking care of the ball and the five guys on the floor working collectively."
Craft was more than pleased with the way his Buccaneers executed at both ends of the floor, especially defensively.
"For us to get rolling offensively, we have to create opportunities at the defensive end," Craft explained. "We did a good job of pressuring the ball and forcing some turnovers to get us out in transition. We also did a good job on the glass, which also gets us out on the break."
The host Buccaneers took control from the outset by scoring the first 11 points of the contest and increasing the lead to 21-6 at the end of the first period.
"We came out focused on playing hard defensively and executing the offense," Craft said. "We got out to a fast start, which allowed us to get into a flow offensively."
The Buccs continued to take it to Bradford in the second period and increased their lead to 39-14 at the half.
The final basket of the first half came on an off-balance three-pointer by Gene Studebaker at the buzzer, one of five Buccaneer treys in the first half.
"What an athlete," praised Craft in regards to Studebaker. "We tried running something else, but time was running out. Gene had the presence of mind to know how much time was left and find a way to get off the shot. It was an athletic move."
The Buccaneer defense was as smothering as ever in the second half.
After Bradfordf's Tyler Huffman scored on a jumper to start the second half, Covington held the Railroaders scoreless until 2:30 was left in the game.
Meanwhile the Buccaneers continued to roll, increasing their lead to 50-16 at the end of the third and 56-16 on a basket by Matt Thomas and two by Andy Sparks to start the fourth.
The Railroaders displayed grit and determination by outscoring Covington 9-3 over the remainder of the contest to make the final score 59-25.
"They (Bradford) never quit playing hard," Craft praised. "Shots were not falling for them, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. You have to tip your hat to them because there's no quit in them."
"The kids have played hard all year," said Wood. "We played hard tonight too. Our effort is there. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and boxing out on the boards."
Bradford did receive a nice offensive night from Tyler Huffman, who led the Railroaders with 10 points.
"Tyler did a good job of creating some separation and getting off his shot," said Wood.
Covington connected on 24 of 58 field goal attempts and 7 of 18 from behind the arc. The Buccs also converted on 4 of 6 from the free throw line.
"They (Covington) are fundamentally sound," Wood said. "Sure, they have Gene (Studebaker) and Seth (Mohler), who are two great athletes. I don't want to take anything away from their other kids, but they are good because they are fundamentally sound. Roger always has his kids play sound, fundamental basketball. That's what good teams do."
Bradford managed to convert on 10 of 35 from the field and 0 for 5 from three-point land. The Railroaders shot 50% from the free throw line, making 5 of 10 attempts.
"In the win we had earlier this year we shot 48%, only had 9 turnovers and gave up 6 offensive boards," Wood concluded. "Good teams are disciplined and have solid fundamentals. We're trying to instill that into our program. It won't happen overnight. It takes time."
The Buccs improve to 10-7 on the season and 7-2 in the CCC, while Bradford drops to 1-15 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
Covington travels to Arcanum on Friday, while Bradford hosts Bethel.
Scoring by Quarters:
Bradford ..............6........14........16........25
Covington ...........21.......39........50........59
Covington Scoring:
Gene Studebaker - 14
Seth Mohler - 10
Derek Brumbaugh - 8
Brian Beckstedt - 6
Kyle Simon - 6
Matt Thomas - 5
Andy Sparks - 4
Drew Craft - 2
Jordy Burelison - 2
Corey Patty - 2
Bradford Scoring:
Tyler Huffman - 10
Trey Sanderson - 4
Daniel Phillips - 3
Scott Steele - 2
Lance Mattieu - 2
Cody Shafer - 2
Larry Lavey - 1
Logan Looker - 1
Three-point Scoring:
Covington: Gene Studebaker (2), Brian Beckstedt (2), Kyle Simon (2), Matt Thomas (1)
