COVINGTON – The Covington Buccaneers suffered a 73-49 loss to Miami East in the final home game for the five seniors – Bryson Hite, Gunner Kimmel, Sam Grabeman, Britton Miller and Connor Humphrey.
“Not the result we wanted for our seniors, but I couldn’t be more proud of the young men they’ve become,” said Covington coach Logan Carey. “When I got back into coaching, it was with this group as eighth graders. I couldn’t ask for a better group of young men to help walk me through everything that being a head coach entails. They’ve been amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of them. They come from great families and have surrounded themselves with some really great influences. They’re a tight knit group and I think they’re having a blast. I know I am.”
It was an emotional night seeing this group of seniors on the home floor for the final time. For each senior, knowing it was the final game in the gym they developed in throughout their high school careers can be emotional for them as well.
Unfortunately, the first period was Covington’s downfall for the night as Miami East jumped out to a 25-4 lead. It wasn’t because the Buccaneers played bad – it was because Miami East hit nearly every shot it attempted and the Buccaneers just couldn’t find a way to hit their shots.
“We dug ourselves a first quarter hole again,” Carey said. “The first quarter is the one that did us in.”
Covington did play very well over the final three periods, only being outscored 48-45 against a really good Viking team.
”The rest of the game we were only outscored by three,” Carey explained. “We’ve shown we can play with anyone. There’s just some stretches that we just can’t seem to shake quite yet. Hats off to East, they were hitting their shots.”
The seniors were the spark for the Buccs as they combined to score 43 of the 49 points put on the board. Bryson Hite led the way with 19 points, while Connor Humphrey scored 12 points by knocking down four huge three-pointers. Gunner Kimmel had 6, Britton Miller 4 and Sam Grabeman had 2 points.
Miami East freshman Ty Rohrer scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Vikings, while Jacob Roeth had 17 points.
Covington, 8-13 overall and 3-10 in the TRC, closes out the regular season at Troy Christian on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 4 – 21 – 36 – 49
Miami East – 25 – 43 – 53 – 73
COVINGTON SCORING:
Bryson Hite – 19
Connor Humphrey – 12
Gunner Kimmel – 6
Britton Miller – 4
Brogen Angle – 3
Reagan Tipps – 3
Sam Grabeman – 2
MIAMI EAST SCORING:
Ty Rohrer – 25
Jacob Roeth – 17
Connor Apple – 8
Devon Abshire – 8
Kamden Wolfe – 7
Camren Monnin – 2
Keidin Pratt – 2
Adam Lawson – 2
Kaden Francis – 2
THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington – Connor Humphrey (4), Bryson Hite (2), Gunner Kimmel (1), Reagan Tipps (1)
Miami East – Ty Rohrer (2), Jacob Roeth (2), Connor Apple (2)
