COVINGTON – After a frustrating season opener seven days ago against Miami East, the Arcanum Trojans regrouped in a hurry to capture a huge road win at Covington on Friday.
And the Trojans’ performance was very impressive as they dominated the final three quarters in a 67-55 victory to even their record at 1-1 overall and 1-1 in Cross County Conference play.
The Buccaneers opened the contest with a 3-pointer by Jett Murphy, and Jordan Maschino drilled three treys followed by a Trevor Miller trey to help Covington build a 21-18 lead after one quarter.
But Arcanum found the hot hand from long range as it converted on eight 3-pointers in the contest, three in the second quarter to take a 30-28 lead at the break.
The Trojans then held Covington scoreless to start the second half until a pair of free throws with 2:12 left in the frame. More impressively, the Buccaneers weren’t able to convert a field goal against the stingy Arcanum defense until 1:31 was left in the third.
Meanwhile, the Arcanum offense methodically broke down Covington’s defense with quick passing and precise execution. The result was a 13-6 scoring advantage in the third for the Trojans as they pushed the lead to 43-34 with one period to play.
Covington caught fire to start the fourth quarter and cut the Trojan advantage to 49-44 midway through the final frame, but Arcanum closed out the contest by outscoring the Buccs 18-10 the rest of the way to preserve the 12-point victory.
Seven players scored for Arcanum with Wade Meeks leading the way with 18 points. Austin Baker was one bucket behind with 16 points while Cole Burrell dropped in 10 points.
Arcanum made 22 of 43 shots from the floor for 51 percent, 8 of 19 from 3-point range for 42 percent and 15 of 26 from the charity stripe for 58 percent.
The Trojans also held a 32-27 advantage on the boards and an 11-9 edge at the offensive end.
Meanwhile, Covington converted on 20 of 51 shots from the floor for 39 percent, 5 of 22 from behind the arc for 23 percent and 10 of 12 from the free throw line for 83 percent.
Arcanum evens its record at 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the CCC with a home contest against Russia Saturday night while Covington drops to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the CCC as it travels to Newton Tuesday in a non-conference affair.
Box score:
Score by quarters:
Arcanum,18,30,43,67
Covington,21,28,34,55
Arcanum scoring:
Wade Meeks – 18
Austin Baker – 16
Cole Burrell – 10
Brandon Kinney – 9
Devin Burns – 8
Evan Atchley – 4
Andrew Baker – 2
Covington scoring:
Jordan Maschino – 21
Trevor Miller – 20
Nathan Blei – 8
Jett Murphy – 4
Tristin Sowers – 2
3-point scoring:
Arcanum: Brandon Kinney (1), Devin Burns (1), Austin Baker (2), Wade Meeks (2), Evan Atchley (1), Cole Burrell (1)
Covington: Jordan Maschino (3), Trevor Miller (1), Jett Murphy (1)
