THE BUCCS CAPTURE A WIN OVER FAIRLAWN

Tanner Palsgrove and the Covington Buccaneers were finally able to capture a huge win against Fairlawn. ©Ben Robinson/Color Green Photo

SIDNEY – Covington defeated Fairlawn 54-48 to capture the third win of the season to improve to 3-9 overall.

Despite playing hard throughout much of the season, wins have been very hard to capture so far. But the Buccaneers have continued to battle nearly every night on the floor.

Fortunately, tonight things finally worked out well enough for the Buccs to walk off the floor with the points on the scoreboard in their favor.

But, even with the win, there were some major adverse situations that the Buccaneers had to overcome – in particular, the second half.

“We made this one interesting too,” said Covington coach Logan Carey. “The guys weren’t satisfied with how this one ended, but we just showed that we can win the close ones.”

What Carey was referring too was the way the Buccaneers nearly squandered a huge lead. Covington totally dominated the first half by playing outstanding defense and playing fairly well offensively. This led to a commanding 32-14 lead at the break.

But things turned around in favor of Fairlawn in the second half as the Jets outscored the Buccaneers 16-11 in the third and put themselves within striking distance in the fourth period. Fortunately the Buccaneers were able to hold on down the stretch to preserve the six-point victory.

“It’s a mental thing,” said Carey regarding some of the struggles the Buccaneers face. “We (the coaches) asked them in the locker room of doubt ever crept in during the fourth quarter and we had a lot of hands raised. Just shows it’s a mental hurdle we have to get over.”

Victories can be very difficult to gain with mental struggles, but this type of win might be one to build some confidence.

“Hopefully this is a step in that direction,” continued Carey. “We had a lot of guys step up today in different roles. This was a good one to get. They (Fairlawn) has beaten two teams that have beat us, but we felt like we should’ve won those games. We’ve got a big week coming up for us, so we’ll keep preparing and getting better in these situations.”

The biggest impact for Covington was the defensive performance in the first half and the balanced scoring from several players. Four Buccaneers reached double digits as Tanner Palsgrove and Reagan Tipps both had 11 points, while Brogen Angle and Landin Cassel scored 10 points each.

What was also impressive was Covington’s ability to get to the free throw line as the team made 15 of 22 attempts throughout the game. Plus, the Buccaneers controlled things inside the paint by dropping in 15 two-point buckets.

If the Buccaneers can put together a game where they play all four quarters like they did in the first half and half many players find a way to put points win the board – plus, increase confidence and mental toughness – future success is possible to achieve.

The next game to find out where the Buccaneers stand is next Friday at home against Troy Christian.

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COVINGTON SCORING:
Reagan Tipps – 11
Tanner Palsgrove – 11
Brogen Angle – 10
Landin Cassel – 10
Parker Hoying – 6
Tyler Jay – 4
Brant Angle – 2

FAIRLAWN SCORING:
G. Maddy – 22
E. Elliott – 13
K. Withrow – 6
B. Ennie – 5
D. Davis – 2

THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington: Reagan Tipps (1), Tanner Palsgrove (1), Brogen Angle (1), Parker Hoying (1)
Fairlawn: K. Withrow (2), G. Maddy (2), E. Elliott (1), B. Ennie (1)

Brogen Angle and the Buccaneers are looking to build confidence after a huge win Saturday. ©Ben Robinson/Color Green Photo