Covenant Christian pulls away from Monrovia in fourth

In what had to be the toughest draw of the South Putnam Class 2A Sectional, Monrovia and Covenant Christian, the only two teams in the tourney with winning records, had to play each other in Tuesday's opening game.

The game lived up to expectations until late, when Covenant pulled away from the Bulldogs to capture a 65-50 victory.

The Warriors' Andrew Smith led all scorers with 27 points. Derek Miles was next for Covenatn (14-6) with 16. Landon Carter put in 12.

For the Bulldogs (14-8), Zach Smith had 17. Tim Connor joined him in double figures with 11.

Covenant had the advantage early, jumping out to a 16-10 lead after a first-quarter in which all five starters scored.

But Monrovia battled back in the second quarter and cut the lead to 25-23 at the break.

It was more of the same in the third, with each team scoring 16 and Covenant still clinging to a 41-39 advantage.

In the fourth, though, things started going the Warriors' way. As the lead grew, Monrovia went cold and began turning the ball over.

When they resorted to fouling, Covenant made them pay by going 15-for-17 from the line in the final frame.

Andrew Smith led the way by going 9-for-9 in the final quarter. Thirteen of his 27 points came in the fourth.

At South Putnam

IHSAA Sectional 46

First Round

Monrovia 10 13 16 11 -- 50

Covenant Christian 16 9 16 24 -- 65

Monrovia (14-8) -- Z. Smith 17, Connor 11, Hadley 9, Speck 6, Sampson 5, Johnson 2.

Covenant Christian (14-6) -- A. Smith 27, Miles 16, McClintic 12, Bawel 8, Owen 2, Byers 0.

Next game -- Covenant Christian will face Speedway at 6 p.m. Friday at South Putnam. Monrovia finishes the season at 14-8.