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| Ben Christian drives to the basket in his final game as a Buccaneer. |
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| 2009-10 BASKETBALL LINKS |
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2009-10 SCHEDULE
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12/05/09
12/11/09
12/12/09
12/15/09
12/22/09
12/29/09
12/30/09
01/08/10
01/09/10
01/15/10
01/16/10
01/22/10
01/26/10
01/29/10
01/30/10
02/02/10
02/12/10
02/19/10
02/20/10
02/22/10
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02/27/10
03/03/10
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@ Fairlawn
@ National Trail
Versailles
Miami East
@ Bethel
Lehman (Piqua Classic)
Russia (Piqua Classic)
Ansonia
@ Milton Union
@ Tri-Village
@ New Bremen
Newton
@ Miss. Valley
Franklin Monroe
@ Anna
Marion Local
Arcanum
Twin Valley South
@ Bradford
@ Tri-County North
Sectional @ Piqua
Bradford
Lehman
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66-46
83-47
45-48
43-35
45-48
65-63
52-60
55-38
41-36
42-49
33-52
76-53
57-40
61-43
46-59
39-44
44-46
50-45
51-24
57-23
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60-33
34-44
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| 2009-10 CCC STANDINGS |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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| Bethel |
11-1 |
16-4 |
| Tri-Village |
11-1 |
15-5 |
| Covington |
9-3 |
12-8 |
| Miami East |
8-4 |
13-7 |
| Arcanum |
8-4 |
14-6 |
| Franklin Monroe |
7-5 |
11-9 |
| Twin Valley South |
7-5 |
10-10 |
| Ansonia |
6-6 |
8-11 |
| Mississinawa Valley |
4-8 |
7-12 |
| Bradford |
3-9 |
7-13 |
| National Trail |
2-10 |
4-16 |
| Newton |
2-10 |
5-15 |
| Tri-County North |
0-12 |
1-19 |
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MARCH 3, 2010 - PIQUA
Basketball is a game of putting the ball in the basket and the closer you get to the basket the easier it should be. But the Covington Buccaneers have struggled at times throughout the year making shots within three or four feet from the rim.
And failing to make shots from close range was the Bucc's downfall once against in the second round of the sectional tournament against of all teams - Lehman.
"It's frustrating - frustrating for the kids," said Covington coach Roger Craft of the Bucc's struggles inside the paint. "It's not like they weren't trying or that they were careless with the basketball. It's just one of those things that happen."
Lehman has been a thorn in Covington's side when it comes to tournament play. In the past three years the Cavaliers have ended Covington's season once in football, three times in baseball and now once in basketball.
In four of those seasons Covington had beaten Lehman earlier in the year, including this season when the Buccs beat the Cavaliers 65-63 in the Holiday Tournament.
"I know," Craft sighed. "Bad karma, I guess."
Tonight, the tone of the game was established in the opening frame as Covington turned the ball over in its first three possessions and only managed five shot attempts in the opening frame.
The first four attempts were off the mark and the fifth shot finally fell with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.
By then Covington was down 11-2 on the scoreboard.
"Turning the ball over in our first three possessions hurt," said Craft. "We never could get into a rhythm offensively. You could see the kids were frustrated."
Fortunately the Buccs continued playing hard and the effort paid off by halftime as Covington outscored Lehman 15-8 in the second quarter and trailed just 19-17 at the half.
"We tied the game at 17 until they hit a basket at the end, but we were right there with them," Craft explained. "We felt pretty good going into the locker room that we would be able to come out and get into a flow in the second half."
Unfortunately it never happened as Lehman controlled the second half 25-17 to take the 44-34 win.
"We just had trouble scoring," Craft said. "Give them (Lehman) credit because they played pretty good defense. We just missed too many easy shots."
The easy shots Craft was referring to was inside the paint as Covington only converted on 8 of 21 shots from around the basket.
"Sixteen points in the paint isn't enough for us," Craft continued. "We are the type of team that needs 30-plus points in the paint."
Another aspect of the game that hurt Covington was converting at the free throw line. The Buccs shot just 50%, making 7-for-14 on the night.
"That's a season low for us," said Craft in regards to free throw percentage. "In a tight game, those free throws are critical."
The Buccs dominated on the boards, pulling down 23 rebounds to just 14 for Lehman. Of those, seven were offensive boards for the Buccs to just two for Lehman.
"When you rebound like that and play defense the way we did, you'd think we would win the game," Craft stated. "How many times do you hold a team to 44 points and lose?"
What makes this loss so painful is the fact that five seniors had their careers end.
"That's what makes this so tough," said Craft. "It's really tough for the seniors. They're a great group of kids that are fun to be around."
Covington ends its season with a 13-9 record.
SCORING BY QUARTERS:
Covington .............2......15.....10......7 - 34
Lehman ...............11........8.....10....13 - 44
Covington Scoring:
Eric Beckstedt - 11
Adam Craft - 11
Ben Christian - 3
Martin Leistner - 3
Josh Boehringer - 3
Jordy Meyer - 2
Cole Owens - 1
Lehman Scoring:
Freytag - 11
Spearman - 9
Cordonnier - 7
Slagle - 7
Baker - 4
Lenz - 3
Steinke - 2
Moore - 1
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