A TUSSLE BETWEEN RIVALS...took place at the Piqua Sectional between Covington and Bradford.

FEBRUARY 28, 2009 - PIQUA
Neighboring rivals Covington and Bradford hooked up for the second time in three weeks in the opening round of the sectional tournament at Piqua High School on Saturday.

And for one half, it was a barn burner as Bradford held a 17-16 lead at the break.

"They (Bradford) did some things defensively in the first half that gave us problems, in particular pressuring the ball," Covington coach Roger Craft explained. "We had some turnovers that hurt and we missed some easy shots."

Bradford gave Covington fits with its quickness and hustle. The Railroaders consistently harassed the Buccaneer guards and beat their bigger opponent to rebounds.

"The first half we played the game at our tempo," said Bradford coach Jerrel Morgan said. "We did a good job on the boards and it was obvious they (Covington) wanted to get the ball inside."

The Buccs could never get into an offensive flow, while the Bradford kids continued to build in confidence and feed off the emotion from their vocal crowd.

"Give Bradford credit, they came to play," Craft praised. "They are very well coached and a much improved team. They are headed in the right direction as a program and that's good for our conference."

Covington took control of the game in the second half thanks to some stellar defensive play and some long range shooting by Eric Beckstedt.

Defensively, the Buccs held Bradford to just two points in the third and a total of ten points in the second half.

Logan Looker, who scored nine points in the first half, was held scoreless in the second half and Phillip Jones only scored four points in the contest after scoring 21 points against the Buccs on February 6.

"We did a good job defensively in the second half of keeping them from getting a second or third shot," said Craft. "Josh Boehringer was big on the boards tonight."

And Beckstedt canned four second half treys to get Covington rolling offensively. The sophomore ended the contest with 14 points.

"Eric's a big part of our offense," Craft explained. "We've been working with him on coming tight off the screens because teams are not going to give him much time to get his shot off. He's getting better and better moving without the basketball."

Adam Craft also came up big offensively as he led the Buccs with a game-high 17 points - much of that coming inside the paint.

"Adam did a good job of managing the offense," said Craft. "He's strong bringing the ball up the floor and he does a good job getting inside to. His strength inside made a difference."

The strength advantage for Covington was apparent throughout the contest.

"Our kids like the weight room," continued Craft. "We know we have a strength advantage against a lot of teams and we use it. But you still have to make basketball plays and we did that in the second half."

The Buccs torched the nets for 18 third quarter points and then followed with 14 more points in the final frame to cruise to a 50-27 win.

Covington was 18-for-38 from the floor for 47%, 12-for-26 from inside the paint (46%) and 6-for-12 from behind the arc. The Buccs also converted on 8 of 11 free throws for 72%.

Bradford shot 31% in the contest on 11 of 35 from the floor. The Railroaders struggled inside as they made just 8 of 23 shots from inside the paint (34%) and from behind the arc, 3-for-12 for 25%. Bradford only went to the free throw line twice and made 2 of 4.

Covington controlled the boards 21-15, while the turnover margin was virtually even - 13 for the Buccs and 15 for Bradford.

The victory advances the Buccs to the second round of the tournament on Wednesday at 7:30pm against Ft. Loramie, who defeated Fairlawn.

For Bradford, it can look back on a season in which it turned the corner.

"I was pleased with the season," Morgan said. "We are happy to get five wins and we'll have most of the kids coming back next year."

Which means Bradford will be a handful for anyone.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ............10......16......34......50 - 50
Bradford .................8.......17.....19......27 - 27

Covington Scoring:
Adam Craft - 17
Eric Beckstedt - 14
Nate Lavey - 7
Jordy Meyer - 4
Martin Leistner - 4
Andy Sparks - 2
Ben Christian - 2

Bradford Scoring:
Logan Looker - 9
Chris Vogler - 6
Phillip Jones - 4
Cody Shafer - 4
Douglas Canan - 2
Daniel Phillips - 2

3-point Scoring:
Covington: Eric Beckstedt (4), Adam Craft (1), Nate Lavey (1)
Bradford: Logan Looker (2), Chris Vogler (1)