COVINGTON – Covington (16-6) celebrated senior night looking to send them out with a victory on their final game on the home court. Just as it appeared they were going to do that the Athenian (17-5) seniors came through for Crawfordsville propelling them to a hard fought 75-71 victory over the Trojans.
“We did not get off to a good start,” said Athenian head coach David Pierce. “Our seniors found a way to win on the road in a hostile environment at Covington against a great team.”
Covington raced out to 25-12 lead after one behind Duncan Keller’s 9 points. They’d lead 28-12 just 0:25 into the second, and things looked bleak for the Athenians.
“When you get down by 16 early at Covington, you’re in trouble,” Pierce said.
The Athenians switched to a 1-3-1 defense midway through the quarter, which helped them outscore Covington 23-9 the remainder of the allowing them to go into the half down just 37-35.
Crawfordsville continued their hot shooting throughout the third, outscoring Covington 19-16 to take a 54-53 lead into the fourth.
“We told the guys at halftime that if we’re going to win this, we need to win the third quarter,” Pierce said. “Give our guys credit, we did, but barely, and gave us confidence heading to the fourth.”
“We just need to make sure we block out and don’t give up second chance points,” said Covington head coach Evan Morgan. “I thought our offense was fine. Defensively, we played solid, but we didn’t finish the possession by getting the rebound. That killed us especially in the second half.”
Crawfordsville opened up a 5-point lead midway through the fourth on back-to-back baskets by Ian Hensley. Covington tied it at 73 with 0:46 remaining, but a pair of free throws late iced it for the Athenians.
The Athenians were led by Hensley’s 23, while Mekhi Wallace had 22 and Ziair Morgan 15. Alex Hernandez pulled down 10 boards.
“Obviously, it’s a huge team effort,” Pierce said afterwards. “Hernandez gets 10 rebounds, Mekhi Wallace finishes 22 points and Ian Hensley finishes with 23. Ziair Morgan had 7 assists and 15 points. He played awesome.”
Savion Waddell led Covington with 24 while Alan Karrfalt and Duncan Keller each finished with 19.
Crawfordsville was 25-52 from floor, for 48 percent, including 10 of 21 from beyond the arc. They were just 11-for-25 from the line or 44 percent.
Covington was 28-54 from the floor, for 53 percent, including 8 of 16 from three. They were eight of 15 from the charity stripe for 53 percent.
The Athenians will travel to Frankfort to battle Tri-West, a team they beat 41-36 on February 11, in the first round of the Sectional on Tuesday.
“This win gives us confidence going into Sectional.” Pierce said. “When we changed to the 1-3-1, it helped get us back into the game. Getting some long rebounds and pushing it up got us on a run.”
The Trojans will more than likely face Lafayette Central Catholic in a semi-final game of the Attica sectional on March 4.
“It’s going to be an exact game like tonight. “Tonight’s film is going to be a great opportunity on film to show our guys we’re not blocking out,” said Morgan. “We can’t give up second chances against CC. Perfect matchup for us going into Sectional.
Crawfordsville 75, Covington 73
CHS 12 23 19 21 — 75
COV 25 12 16 20 - 73
Covington (16-6)
FG-FGA FT-FTA: Savion Waddell 7-21, 4-4 – 24, Alan Karrfalt 8-14, 0-2 – 19, Duncan Keller 5-13, 6-8 – 19, Neil Elmore 3-6, 1-1 – 7, Jonas Burris-Bunch 2-2, 0-0 – 4 ; Totals: 25-52, 11-15 - 73
Crawfordsville (17-5)
FG-FGA FT-FTA: Ian Hensley 8-18, 2-3 – 23, Mekhi Wallace 10-12, 2-3 – 22, Ziair Morgan 5-10, 2-3 – 15, Gavin Kenny 4-4, 1-4 – 9, Alex Kellerman 1-5, 0-0 – 3, Alex Hernandez 1-5, 0-0 – 2, Ethan McLemore 0-0, 1-2 - 1 ; Totals: 28-54, 8-15 – 75
3-Point Shooting: Crawfordsville 9-16 (Hensley 5-7, Morgan 3-6, Kellerman 1-3), Covington 10-21 (Karrfalt 6-12, Keller 3-6, Ellmore 1-2, Waddell 0-7)
Rebounding: Crawfordsville 38 (Hernandez 16), Covington 22 (Keller 9)
Turnovers: Crawfordsville 10, Covington 4