Kyle Kanet drills a fourth quarter trey.

2007-08 BASKETBALL LINKS MEET THE 07-08 BUCCANEERS MEET THE 07-08 LADY BUCCS MEET THE 07-08 CHEERLEADERS

2007-08 SCHEDULE 11/01/07 12/08/07 12/14/07 12/18/07 12/21/07 12/22/07 12/29/07 01/04/08 01/05/08 01/11/08 01/12/08 01/18/08 01/19/08 01/22/08 01/25/08 01/26/08 01/29/08 02/01/08 02/02/08 02/08/08 02/19/08 Versailles @ National Trail @ Bethel Ansonia @ Tri-Village Marion Local Russia Newton @ Milton Union @ Mississinawa @ New Bremen Franklin Monroe @ Anna Miami East @ Bradford @ Fairlawn Arcanum Twin Valley South Delphos St. John's @ Tri-County North SECTIONALS 34-30 44-52 61-68 43-57 40-46 26-54 36-59 52-60 53-62 62-54 30-49 41-44 41-73 48-44 70-36 49-43 34-55 55-57 38-61 52-54 33-46 2007-08 CCC STANDINGS Team CCC ALL Twin Valley South 10-1 15-3 Tri-Village 8-1 13-3 Arcanum 8-2 11-6 Franklin Monroe 8-2 10-7 Miami East 6-3 10-6 Bethel 5-4 7-7 Ansonia 5-4 8-8 Covington 3-9 5-15 National Trail 3-7 3-13 Newton 3-6 3-12 Mississinawa Valley 3-8 4-12 Tri-County North 2-8 5-12 Bradford 0-9 1-14

December 1, 2007 - COVINGTON
Covington basketball coach Roger Craft couldn't have been more pleased with the effort his team gave in a 34-30 victory in the season opener against Versailles, Saturday.

"Our kids played their butts off tonight," Craft said. "They played with heart and guts. I'm very proud of them."

The game wasn't a work of art, but after just one scrimmage and a handful of practices as a complete unit Craft wasn't concerned about style points.

"We only had two guys (Jordy Burelison and Andy Sparks) who have played varsity before," Craft explained. "And it showed too. But the kids left it all on the floor. This was a big win for our confidence."

Both teams struggled to get into a groove at the offensive end of the floor in the first half as the teams combined for just 23 points for a 14-9 Versailles lead at the break.

But the Buccaneers constantly rotated ten players, which played dividends in the second half.

"That (depth) is something we have going for us," Craft said. "That's why we do some of the full court stuff, traps, pressing - things like that. When you do some of those things the kids get tired in a hurry. It's good to be able to keep fresh legs on the floor."

Having fresh legs began to have an impact in the third period as Covington outscored Versailles 13-3 in the third quarter.

Sophomore Jordy Meyer and senior Jordy Burelison each scored six points in the stanza. One of Burelison's big shots came on a trey that gave Covington a 20-17 lead it wouldn't surrender the rest of the game.

"Jordy stepped up and made some big shots," praised Craft of his senior who led the way with 12 points.

Burelison's final three points came on a shot that was as big as any he has hit before.

With Covington holding just a three-point lead, Burelison canned his third trey of the contest to put Covington up 28-22 with 2:31 left in the game.

It not only gave Covington its biggest lead of the contest, it forced a Versailles timeout.

"Jordy has had only had four practices," continued Craft regarding Burelison. "But he's been there before. He's played varsity basketball and he knows how to lay it on the line."

Versailles has a rich tradition in athletics and 2:31 is a lifetime when trying to hold on to a six point lead.

Covington found out first hand as sophomore Clayton Nieport canned a trey just seconds after the timeout.

But the Buccs were in the double bonus at the other end and Versailles sent Kyle Kanet to the free throw line for two shots. Kanet made the first, but missed the second attempt. Buccaneer senior Kody Thiebeau out jumped two Tigers for the rebound and immediately passed back to Kanet for a three-pointer and a 32-25 lead.

"That was a huge rebound by Kody," Craft said. "Not only did he have the athletic ability to go up and get it, he had the court awareness to hit Kyle for the open three. That was a four-point possession for us."

Again, Versailles wouldn't go away.

Senior Brady Selhorst responded with a long-range trey and Ian Nisonger stole the inbounds pass and canned a jumper to cut the margin to 32-30 with just 31 seconds left.

The Tigers then fouled Kanet, who misfired on both free throws. But the Buccaneers came down with the rebound once again as Nate Lavey snuck in to grab the ball and put it back for the 34-30 win.

"This was a great team effort," Craft concluded. "Versailles is always tough and for us to come out with a win like this was huge."

The Buccaneers will look to keep a good thing going on the road against National Trail on Saturday.

Scoring by Quarters:
Versailles ..........5.....14......17......30
Covington .........6.......9.......22......34

Versailles Scoring:
Clayton Nieport - 12
Ian Nisonger - 5
Bryant Ahrens - 5
Jon Richard - 3
Brady Selhorst - 3
Kevin Grieshop - 2

Covington Scoring:
Jordy Burelison - 12
Jordy Meyer - 8
Nate Lavey - 4
Kyle Kanet - 4
Andy Sparks - 4
Kody Thiebeau - 2

Three-Point Scoring:
Versailles: Ian Nisonger (1), Clayton Niepoprt (1), Brady Selhorst (1)
Covington: Jordy Burelison (3)