CASSTOWN – The Covington Buccaneers struggled against state ranked Miami East in the final regular season contest with a 70-33 defeat.

Miami East took control of the game from the outset by establishing a 19-10 lead after one and a 39-16 lead at the break as Jacob Roeth and Wes Enis combined to score 30 of the 39 points for the Vikings.

Covington played determined and with effort, but just couldn’t find success against a very good Miami East defense. This led to just 23 points through three quarters for the Buccaneers and a season low 33 points throughout the contest.

The Vikings pushed their lead to 51-23 after three and outscored Covington 19-10 in the final frame under a running clock.

Wes Enis and Jacob Roeth led all scorers with 20 points each, while Matthew VanPelt finished with 10 points, eight of those coming in the fourth period.

Covington was led by sophomore Tanner Palsgrove, who finished with 10 points.

Overall, Miami East made 17 two-point buckets, six three-pointers and converted on 18 of 20 free throws. Covington made eight two-point baskets, four three-pointers and was five of eight from the line.

The Buccaneers finish the regular season with a 6-16 overall record and 1-13 in the TRC. Covington opens the tournament on February 18th against Fort Loramie at Piqua High School.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 10 – 6 – 7 – 10 = 33
Miami East – 19 – 20 – 12 – 19 = 70

COVINGTON SCORING:
Tanner Palsgrove – 10
Brogen Angle – 9
Bryson Hite – 5
Britton Miller – 4
Connor Humphrey – 3
Gunner Kimmel – 2

MIAMI EAST SCORING:
Wes Enis – 20
Jacob Roeth – 20
Matthew VanPelt – 10
Andrew Crane – 8
Connor Apple – 5
Mitchel Kemp – 4
Bryce Haught – 3

THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington – Tanner Palsgrove (2), Brogen Angle (1), Bryson Hite (1)
Miami East – Jacob Roeth (3), Matthew VanPelt (2), Connor Apple (1)