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| Seth Mohler recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. |
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| Derek Brumbaugh goes up for two of his seven points on the night. |
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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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January 20, 2007 - COVINGTON
The smiles on the faces of the Covington players told the entire story of how important it was to get two wins on back-to-back nights against quality opponents.
"It feels good," said Covington senior Gene Studebaker after the Buccs defeated New Bremen 53-46 on Saturday. "After some tough losses, to get two wins in a row is gratifying."
Gratifying, and also rewarding.
Not only did the Buccs capture two big wins in a row, they overcame the mental affects of losing five of six games prior to this weekend.
"It's easy to give up when the chips are down," said Buccaneer coach Roger Craft. "But these kids have continued to work hard, listen and press forward."
"A lot of people gave up on us," said Derek Brumbaugh, who accounted for 7 points and 5 rebounds. "But we believe in ourselves and each other. This was definitely a team effort tonight."
Brumbaugh's assessment of a team effort was accurate as numerous players stepped up in various points of the game to keep Covington in front throughout much of the contest.
The Buccs only trailed early in the first quarter and the closest New Bremen could get to regaining the lead was a 31-31 tie late in the third period.
"We had different kids step up and make big plays throughout the game," said Coach Craft. "Jordy (Burelison) hit a big shot at the end of the third. Kyle Simon came off the bench and gave us a spark with his defense and hustle. Gene (Studebaker), Seth (Mohler), Drew (Craft) and Corey (Patty) - they all made plays."
Burelison's shot Craft referred too came at a critical juncture of the game.
New Bremen had fought its way back from a 25-18 half time deficit to tie the score at 31-31 by outscoring Covington 13-6 over most of the third period.
Burelison gave Covington a spark by draining a three-pointer in front of the Buccaneer bench.
"That was a big basket," Craft said. "The guys never lost their composure when New Bremen made a run. We started making plays and that started with the defensive pressure."
After New Bremen opened the fourth period with a basket by Scott Schnelle to cut the margin to 34-33, Covington forced three straight turnovers that resulted in lay-ups.
The third lay-up came off of a Studebaker steal that Jordy Burelison converted into points, forcing New Bremen to take a timeout with 5:28 left in the game.
Trailing 40-33, the Cardinals went on a run of their own by outscoring Covington 13-8 to cut the margin to 48-46 with under 1:00 to go.
"We knew they (New Bremen) were capable of coming back at any time," described Studebaker. "We just had to keep our composure and stay focused on what we had to do."
That was to protect the ball and play solid defense, which the Buccaneers did.
New Bremen applied a full-court press, a strategy other teams have used to frustrate the Buccs throughout the year.
But Covington was up to the task, preventing a costly turnover in the final minutes that could ultimately cost them the game.
"We practice situations like that (protecting the ball in a close game)," said Drew Craft. "A lot of teams try to press us because they don't think we can handle it. We've gotten better at attacking it and making plays off of it."
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, they missed on 3 of 6 free throws in the final minute to keep New Bremen within striking distance until a Seth Mohler steal and a lay-up sealed the game with 10 seconds left.
"New Bremen is a darn good team with a lot of size," praised Coach Craft. "We had a hard time stopping Scott Schnelle and Scott Steineman. They are two very good players."
Schnelle and Steineman gave the Buccaneers fits, combining for 38 of New Bremen's 46 points. Schnelle scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Steineman accounted for 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Fortunately, the Buccaneers manage to hold the duo to just one field goal in the final 3:00 of the contest.
"We couldn't stop him (Schnelle)," said Brumbaugh of the 6-foot-9 New Bremen post player. "But we made some adjustments to try and slow him down."
"I told the kids before the game he (Schnelle) would be the best post player we'd probably see this year," said Coach Craft. "Then you have Steineman. He can score from anywhere on the floor. But I thought the kids did a nice job of staying with them, but they are tough to defend."
The Buccaneers were also hard to defend, as evident by the balanced scoring.
Six Buccaneer players score with Studebaker leading the way with 19 points. Seth Mohler recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"Gene and Seth are the leaders because they make everyone around them better," Coach Craft said. "Gene averaged over 20 points this weekend and Seth had two double-doubles."
The victory improves Covington overall record to 7-7, while New Bremen drops to 8-5. Five of Covington's losses have come to teams that have been ranked in the state at some point this season.
Which Craft believes has helped his team grow and improve as a unit.
"Coming into the season we had two veterans (Mohler and Studebaker) and a bunch of rookies," said Craft. "Gene and Seth were the only two with a lot of varsity experience. The kids are working hard and coming together. Our confidence is growing."
Drew Craft agreed.
"This (weekend) could be the turning point of our season," said Drew. "Obviously we have Gene and Seth, but the rest of us are playing with more confidence and more relaxed."
Roger Craft also sees the weekend as a possible spark for the remainder of the season, but he understands there is a lot of basketball to be played before tournament time.
"This is a nice weekend for the kids," said Craft. "They worked hard and were rewarded with two nice wins. The good thing is, they are not satisfied."
Scoring by Quarters:
New Bremen ..........10.......18.......31.......46
Covington ..............11.......25.......34.......53
Covington Scoring:
Gene Studebaker - 19
Seth Mohler - 11
Drew Craft - 8
Derek Brumbaugh - 7
Jordy Burelison - 6
Corey Patty - 2
New Bremen Scoring:
Scott Schnelle - 21
Scott Steineman - 17
Dan Brown - 3
David Hartwig - 3
Brian Garman - 2
Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Gene Studebaker (1), Jordy Burelison (1)
New Bremen: Scott Steineman (1)
