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| Eric Beckstedt put on a show with five treys and 19 first half points on his way to a 23-point night. |
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| 2008-09 BASKETBALL LINKS |
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2008-09 SCHEDULE
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12/05/08
12/06/08
12/12/08
12/13/08
12/16/08
12/27/08
01/02/09
01/03/09
01/09/09
01/16/09
01/17/09
01/23/09
01/24/09
01/31/09
02/03/09
02/06/09
02/07/09
02/13/09
02/16/09
02/20/09
02/27/09
03/04/09
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Tri-County North
Fairlawn
National Trail
@ Versailles
@ Miami East
@ Marion Local
@ Piqua
@ Piqua vs Russia
@ Ansonia
Tri-Village
New Bremen
@ Newton
Milton Union
Anna
@ Franklin Monroe
Bradford
Bethel
@ Arcanum
Mississinawa
@ Twin Valley South
Bradford (T)
Ft. Loramie (T)
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59-58
63-51
59-42
26-47
54-65
34-48
56-63
33-51
36-47
50-54
50-59
39-26
66-52
53-59
36-54
58-34
40-39
36-52
64-56
49-52
50-27
34-47
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| 2008-09 CCC STANDINGS |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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| Miami East |
11-1 |
18-1 |
| Arcanum |
11-1 |
13-6 |
| Tri-Village |
10-2 |
14-6 |
| Bethel |
9-3 |
12-8 |
| Ansonia |
7-5 |
9-11 |
| Franklin Monroe |
6-6 |
11-9 |
| Mississinawa |
6-6 |
9-11 |
| Covington |
6-6 |
8-12 |
| Twin Valley South |
5-7 |
10-10 |
| Tri-County North |
3-9 |
4-16 |
| Newton |
2-10 |
3-17 |
| Bradford |
1-11 |
5-15 |
| National Trail |
1-11 |
1-19 |
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JANUARY 2, 2009 - PIQUA
The Covington Buccaneers proved Friday night they could play with anybody as the Piqua Indians had all they could handle and more before escaping their home floor with a 63-56 win.
"We found out we can be a very good team," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "We played as well as we possibly can in the first half, but we didn't sustain the effort in the second half. We have to learn to be more consistent."
The Buccaneers went right after the bigger, more athletic Indians from the outset - pounding the ball inside and kicking it back to the perimeter where sophomore Eric Beckstedt put on a show.
Beckstedt connected on five first half treys, each time drawing oohs and ahhs from the crowd. His performance was stellar as he had more halftime points than the entire Piqua roster, 19-18.
"Eric hit some big shots," said Craft. "But it started with the inside game. We were able to pound the ball inside and hit some big baskets. This freed up the perimeter, where we were able to find Eric in open space."
Ben Christian and Jordy Meyer in particular had a field day inside the paint in the first half as the duo continually beat Piqua defenders to the basket and to the ball for offensive rebounds and stick backs.
"We did just about everything right (in the first half)," Craft explained. "Whether it was going after loose balls, playing defense, rebounding - everything. That's as well as we've played all year."
The numbers on the scoreboard didn't lie as the Buccs walked into the locker room with a 34-18 lead.
Unfortunately for Covington, a basketball game is four quarters and the team in the other locker room had a number of athletes who were yet to break loose - in particular Cedric Wright, Dan Wilson and Gomez White.
"I told the kids at halftime that the third period would be the most important period of the game," said Craft. "We needed to go out there and put them away and not let them back into the game because we knew they were a dangerous team due to all the athletes they have."
The Buccs opened the second half with a beautifully executed pass from Adam Craft to Andy Sparks that resulted in an easy basket to push the lead to 36-18.
But the tide of the game immediately turned after Piqua's Gomez White stole the ball at mid-court and powered his way to the other end of the floor with a monster dunk over Nate Lavey.
A silent Piqua crowd suddenly got back into the game and the home team fed off the emotion.
The result was a 23-9 onslaught in the third to cut the Buccaneer lead to 43-41 with one quarter to play.
"We missed some easy shots to start the second half and they got on a roll," Craft explained. "We missed shots from two and three feet from the basket. But give them (Piqua) credit. They came out and hit some big shots in the second half."
Four of those shots came from Cedric Wright and Dan Wilson as the duo combined for four of the five second half treys by the Indians - three coming in the fourth quarter.
Still, the Buccs held a 51-47 lead with 4:32 left in the game and were in the bonus.
Unfortunately Covington couldn't get to the free throw line and Piqua went on a 16-5 run over the remainder of the game. Covington could only manage a Ben Christian lay-up and an Adam Craft trey in the final 4:00 of the contest.
"This (the loss) is hard to swallow," said Craft. "To give up an 18-point lead and be outscored 45-22 in the second half hurts. But give them credit. They made some plays and buried some big threes when they needed them. That's probably the most athletic team we'll see this year."
As much as the loss hurts when an opportunity of beating a quality Division I team was right there for the taking, Craft understands the experience will only help his team in the long run.
"The good thing is the tournament atmosphere will help us down the line," Craft continued. "A lot of the young guys have never played in an atmosphere like this. This will only help us when we come back here for sectionals."
Beckstedt led all players with a game-high 23 points as the Buccs connected on 22 of 47 from the field for 46%. Covington was 7-for-17 from behind the arc for 41% and 5 of 7 from the free throw line for 71%.
Ben Christian scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, while Jordy Meyer had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Adam Craft also had 8 points for the Buccs.
Piqua was led by Cedric Wright with 21 points, Dan Wilson with 20 and Gomez White with 14.
The Indians were 21 of 40 from the floor for 52%, 6-for-13 from behind the arc for 46% and 15 of 21 from the free throw line for 71%.
Covington held a slim advantage on the boards 22-19, but Piqua forced 12 Covington turnovers while committing 10.
The Buccs drop to 3-4 overall and return tomorrow night at 6:30 to face Russia in the consolation game, while the Indians take on Lehman in the championship game at 8:00.
Covington's JV squad also plays tomorrow in the consolation game as it suffered a 42-40 double overtime loss to the Indians. The JV Buccs will play Russia at 10am.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ...............19.........34........43.......56 - 56
Piqua .........................8.........18........41.......63 - 63
Covington Scoring:
Eric Beckstedt - 23
Ben Christian - 10
Jordy Meyer - 8
Adam Craft - 8
Andy Sparks - 4
Nate Lavey - 3
Piqua Scoring:
Cedric Wright - 21
Dan Wilson - 20
Gomez White - 14
Howard Walters - 5
Drew Lee - 2
Tyrell Knox - 1
Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Beckstedt (5), Craft (1), Lavey (1)
Piqua: Wright (3), Wilson (2), Walters (1)
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