BRANDT – The Covington Buccaneers dropped their second straight game with a 53-46 loss at Bethel on Tuesday to start the season at 0-2 overall and in the TRC.

The loss wasn’t due to a lack of effort as the Buccs played extremely hard all four periods. The difference was missed opportunities inside the paint where several open looks wouldn’t fall. Plus, Bethel’s defense was impressive and their physical style and strength had a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

Covington started out fast by jumping out to a 10-2 lead, but Bethel was able to battle back to cut the Buccaneer advantage to 12-7 at the end of the first. The Bees then closed the gap to 20-19 at the break.

Bethel took its first lead on a bucket to start the third period and made things difficult for the Buccs the rest of the game. Covington battled hard, but every time the Buccs gained some momentum the Bees were able to turn the tide with a huge basket.

The Bees outscored Covington 16-10 in the third to take a 35-30 lead into the final frame and held off the Buccs throughout the remainder of the contest.

Overall, Covington converted on 20 of 51 attempts from the floor for 39% and made five of 24 attempts from behind the arc. The Buccs only managed to get to the free throw line once and made one of two free throws.

Britton Miller led Covington with 14 points, while Brogen Angle had 13 and Bryson Hite scored 10 points. Hite led the Buccs with seven rebounds.

Next up for the Buccs is another huge league match-up on Friday at home against Northridge, who is 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 12 – 20 – 30 – 46
Bethel – 7 – 19 – 35 – 53

COVINGTON SCORING:
Britton Miller – 14
Brogen Angle – 13
Bryson Hite – 10
Tanner Palsgrove – 7
Gunner Kimmel – 2

THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington: Brogen Angle (3), Tanner Palsgrove (1), Britton Miller (1)