The Shadow
Crunch time was Miller time.
Covington’s senior point guard Jaun Miller scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half Friday night — 13 in the fourth quarter — as the Cougars kept visiting Bath County at arm’s length for a 71-57 Pioneer District boys basketball victory.
The Cougars improved to 6-3 with the win, 8-12 overall, while the Chargers dipped to 2-6 in the district and 6-10 on the year.
Bath County had trailed by as many as 16 but cut it to three in the third quarter. They trailed by 10 late when Tijon Rice and Miller all but ended it.
Their back-to-back old-fashioned three point plays in a nine-second span increased a 65-55 Covington lead to 71-55 with only 1:25 remaining in the game.
Rice added 19 points for the Cougars, while Rickey Jefferson had 12.
Covington boss Keith Moore had to be pleased with his team’s 18-for-23 performance from the free throw line that included a 10-of-12 night from Miller.
“I?thought Jaun was really aggressive tonight,”?Moore said. “He did a good job of taking it to the hole.”
The Cougars came out blazing. They hit eight of their 13 first-quarter field goal attempts and opened a 22-11 lead.
Rice scored 12 first-half points, and the Cougars twice enjoyed a 16-point cushion in the second quarter. When Miller found Jabari Williams for an easy two, the Covington lead stood at 34-29.
“I?thought we moved the ball around pretty well,”?Moore added. “We were a lot more aggressive than we have been.”
The Chargers had a late first-half push in them to close the gap. A?6-0 Bath County run at the end of the half included buckets by Damian Flenner,
Cole Plott and Sean Flenner that reduced the Charger deficit to 34-25 at intermission.
Sean Gardener’s work on the inside further chisled into the Covington lead and got the Chargers within 42-39 in the third quarter, but that proved to be as close as visiting Bath County would get.
Four straight Miller points countered a Sean Flenner basket, and Ahmir Smith closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer, extending the Covington lead to 49-41.
“We fought back in the second half,”?said Bath County coach Justin Whittington. “We just didn’t have enough to finish it. I?hope we take tonight and kind of stretch it into the district tournament.”
An 8-2 Covington spurt to open the fourth quarter that ended on a twisting layup by Miller increased the Covington lead to 57-43.
A?Damian Flenner basket near the midpoint of the final quarter cut the Bath County deficit to 59-53, but they would get no closer.
Damian Flenner led the Chargers with 18 points, while Sean Flenner added 11. Plott hit a pair from long distance and had 10 points to round out the double figure scorers for Bath County.
“I’m proud of the boys,”?Whittington added. “They played tough. Covington is a strong district team.”
Williams grabbed a dozen rebounds for the Cougars, while Miller added nine boards.
Gardener led Bath County rebounders with seven.
The Chargers are back in action Monday when they host Narrows. The Cougars travel to Greenbrier East Tuesday.
“We needed that one,”?Moore concluded. “Any win now is a good win.”
Speaking of wins, the Covington jayvee team improved to 19-1 on the season with a 75-20 win in Friday’s opener.
Twelve Cougars cracked the scoring column, led by Jacob Roldan with 17 and Sammy Akers with 11.
Rounding out the Covington scoring were Brady Howard with nine, Larry Hill, Cory Whitaker, Logan Jefferson and Gunner Givens with six each, Ashton Cook with four, Skyler Barnett and Levi Dressler with three apiece and Hunter Smith and Chadwick Tacy with two.
Ethan Hyler and Brennan Gardzinski with five each paced the Chargers, while Russel Ingram contributed four. Matthew Keyser with three, Forrest Waldeck with two and Landon Long with one completed the Bath County scoring.
The Cougars enjoyed a 41-10 lead at the half.
