A REASON TO CELEBRATE...for the Newton Indians as they made it three wins in the last four meetings against rival Covington.

Story provided by BuccsFootball.com
January 4, 2008 – COVINGTON
Over the past four years the Covington Buccaneers and Newton Indians have played some classic basketball games - games that went down to the wire in three of the four meetings.

Newton has managed to come out on top in three of those meetings, including Friday's double-overtime thriller in Covington that ended in a 60-52 final.

"We know every time we face Covington that we are in for a battle," said Newton coach Neil Hans. "Roger (Craft) is a great basketball coach and he always has his kids well prepared."

The early moments of the game looked like it would turn into a Newton blowout win. The Indians stormed out to a lead at the end of the first period and had Covington on its heals.

But Covington outscored Newton 17-5 in the second quarter and 16-10 in the third to tie the score at 38-38.

"Our kids showed a lot of heart, desire and character to get back into the game that quickly," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "There's no quit in these kids and I'm proud of how hard we played."

Coach Hans wasn't happy to see his team's lead evaporate so fast.

"I'm not very pleased with giving up a big lead," Hans stated. "But I've seen it many times where a team jumps out to a big lead early and the intensity level drops off. That's what happened to us tonight."

After a T.J. Lavey runner to open the fourth gave Newton a 40-38 lead, Covington went on a 7-0 run. Bill Dickey hit a pair of jumpers and Adam Craft canned a trey to give Covington its largest lead of the contest, 45-40 with 3:33 left in the game.

"I was impressed with how hard Covington played, especially on defense," Hans praised. "They hit some big shots at critical junctures of the game."

Newton's defense was also stellar as it held Covington scoreless over the remaining minutes of regulation.

Meanwhile, Jason Powell put the offensive load on his shoulders by canning three of four free throws and a jumper to tie the score at 45-45 with 52 second left in the game.

"We really wanted to get Jason to the free throw line because he's our best shooter," Hans said.

Covington held the ball for one last shot attempt that in regulation. Kody Thiebeau's attempt from the baseline bounced off the rim and into the hands of Adam Craft. Craft quickly put the ball up as he was falling backward, but the shot came up short to send the game into overtime.

The overtime began with two Covington players on the bench with five fouls, Jordy Burelison and Adam Craft.

Newton gained control of the basketball and scored on a Logan King lay-up off of a pretty pass by Jason Powell.

"Jason had several passes tonight to get us some easy baskets," Hans explained. "He also hit T.J. (Lavy) several times on the block."

Powell pushed the Newton lead to 49-45 on a pair of free throws, but Thiebeau quickly raced to the other end to score on a lay-up with 1:54 left in overtime.

Again, Powell found an open man behind the Covington defense as T.J. Lavy converted the pass into a lay-up. The Indians followed with a free throw by Kale Booher to push its lead to 52-47 with just 53 second left on the clock.

After a timeout, Covington made its move to extend the game into another overtime.

Andy Sparks drilled a jumper to make the score 52-49 and Covington quickly fouled to send T.J. Lavy to the free throw line in the double-bonus.

Both attempts were off the mark as Covington pulled down the rebound and headed to the other end. Kyle Kanet found himself open behind the arc and drilled a tying three-pointer to send the game to a second overtime.

"When we fell behind we did a good job of attacking," Craft said. "We have to do a better job of attacking when we have a lead."

Playing with several players in foul trouble and on tired legs, the Buccaneers couldn't keep up the pace in the second overtime.

Newton outscored Covington 8-0 in the frame on a basket by Lavy and six free throws to take the 60-52 win.

"I felt like there were a lot of mistakes on both sides," Hans described. "But that's probably what made this game so exciting. One team would make a mistake and the other team would capitalize."

The team that capitalized the most was Newton, which improves to 3-7 overall and 3-4 in the CCC.

"Give them (Newton) credit," praised Roger Craft. "They made the plays when they needed them."

For Covington, who drops to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the CCC, Craft feels his team is making strides.

"We're getting better," Craft said. "We have to learn to continue to attack when we are ahead. We have to do a better job off attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. We'll get there."

Covington travels to Milton-Union Saturday, while Newton hosts Valley View.

Scoring by Quarters:
Newton ...........23..........28......38......45......52......60
Covington .........5..........22......38......45......52......52

Newton Scoring:
Lavy - 19
King - 15
Powell - 13
Booher - 6
Hutton - 4
Snipes - 2
Payne - 1

Covington Scoring:
Thiebeau - 12
Sparks - 8
Craft - 8
Lavey - 8
Dickey - 6
Kanet - 5
Meyer - 3
Christian - 2

Three-Point Scoring:
Newton: Powell (2)
Covington: Thiebeau (2), Craft (2), Kanet (1)