COVINGTON — The Covington Buccaneers were able to avenge an earlier defeat to Bethel by holding off the Bees down the stretch that led to a 56-49 victory.
“Really proud of the effort from all of our guys tonight,” said Covington coach Logan Carey. “I thought that was our most complete game of the year to this point. Offensively, defensively, rebounding – we did a really nice job in all those facets.”
Covington was able to open a double-digit lead over Bethel in the first half Tuesday night at Covington in TRC action.
But, the Bees battled back in the second half — before Covington finished off the win to gain a split of the season series.
Covington improves to 5-9 overall and 2-6 in the TRC with the win, while Bethel drops to 4-10 overall and 1-7 in the TRC.
Covington had taken a 36-25 halftime lead, but Bethel was able to close the gap to 41-36 after three quarters.
Despite playing three minutes of the fourth quarter without their top two scorers due to fouls, the Bees stayed in the game.
After a Covington miss with a little over a minute remaining, Bethel had the ball with a chance to tie trailing 50-47.
But, an errant pass led to a layup for Tanner Palsgrove and Brogen Angle hit four straight free throws to put the game away for Covington.
The game had gone back-and-forth at the start, with Mike Halleg and Cameron Ahrens combined for all 18 Bethel points.
But, Covington’s Britton Miller hit a shot from near mid-court at the buzzer to give the Buccs a 19-18 lead they would never relinquish.
Covington outpointed Bethel 17-7 in the second quarter to open a double digit lead and held off the Bess at the end for the win. Britton Miller had 11 points for Covington in the opening half, Bryson Hite had nine and Palsgrove added seven points.
That balance continued throughout the game for the Buccs.
Brogen Angle led the Buccs with 14 points, while Tanner Palsgrove and Britton Miller scored 13 points each. Bryson Hite netted 10 points and Gunner Kimmel had six — all in the first half.
“Offensively it’s beautiful to see the scoring balanced like it was,” Carey said. “We are a hard team to beat when we share the ball like that and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. I’m really proud of our guys and glad they can be rewarded with a gritty win after all the work they’ve been putting in. That was a great one.”
Ahrens paced Bethel with 19 points, Halleg added 17 and Carson Staton added six.
The Buccs travel to Northridge on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 19 – 36 – 41 – 56
Bethel – 18 – 25 – 36 – 49
COVINGTON SCORING:
Brogen Angle – 14
Tanner Palsgrove – 13
Britton Miller – 13
Bryson Hite – 10
Gunner Kimmel – 6
BETHEL SCORING:
Cameron Ahrens – 19
Mike Halleg – 17
Carson Staton – 6
Elijah Alberti – 2
Jonas Friend – 2
Landon Cornwell – 2
Cody DeLaet – 1
THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington: Palsgrove, Angle, Miller (3)
Bethel: Staton (2), Halleg
