NEW MADISON – Tri-Village got a combined 59 points from Trey Sagester and Dom Black to improve to 19-0 in boys basketball. Sagester pumped in 33 points, and Black muscled 26 in the paint as Tri-Village overwhelmed Fenwick to remain undefeated.
While the Patriots offense was efficient and productive, what often gets overlooked is the intensity and defensive effort, and in this game, Noah Finkbine, Kaysen Hollinger, Carson Bedinghaus, and Hayden Hunt were tasked with slowing down the top two Fenwick scorers, and they did it well.
“Coming into the game Fenwick had two players Duba and Krahe on the previous night score 42 points against Carrol and we wanted to limit their production, so we had to decide which defenders to put on them based on size and athleticism,” Sagester stated.
Duba who had 26 points on 8 threes the other night was held to just four points and zero threes against Tri-Village.
“We put our best on ball defender Noah Finkbine on him and when he was out Kasyn Hollinger filled in with his length and they did a great job,” Sagester praised.
Krahe had 16 points the other night and he was held to 12 points and combined the duo had just 16 points verses Tri-Village.
“We got a good effort from Carson Bedinghaus and Hayden Hunt when they came in the game and combined they too held Krahe to 12 points, so the defense did its job,” Sagester explained.
While the defense was focused and locked in, the offense was productive and flowed mostly through Sagester and Black on this night.
Tri-Village raced out to a 26-4 first quarter lead with Sagester scoring 12 points, Black had 6, Brecken Gray 6 and Finkbine 2.
Sagester would add another 11 points in the 2nd quarter and had 23 at the half. Black had 3 and Hayden Hunt 2 points as the Patriots outscored Fenwick 16-11 in the second quarter and led 42-15 at the half.
Playing a fully focused 32-minute game is the goal in high school but difficult to do, the good teams find a way to play at a high level for the full measure and if there was one area that Sagester was disappointed and would like to see improvement is the lapse they had in the 3rd quarter.
Fenwick won the quarter 20-18 but still trailed 60-35 heading into the final stanza.
“We played an outstanding first half. We got lackadaisical in the third quarter. You know, we defended really well early and I thought we really put on a clinic in the first half, offensively and defensively. Then we got a little lackadaisical, on the defensive end. But when you’re up 42-15 sometimes it is tough to keep everybody’s attention and focus,” Sagester said.
Offensively Black had 10 points in the third quarter and 7 in the early part of the fourth quarter to end the game with 26 points and Sagester added 10 more as well before both of them called it night.
The Patriots won the final frame 22-12 and the game 82-47 and shot 69% from the field, not many teams are able to beat a team that efficient on offense.
Sagester who had 33 points was coming off a 32-point performance Friday in a win over Twin Valley South and Black’s 26 points did most of the damage against Fenwick.
“That’s a pretty good weekend by Trey and then you add in Dom’s performance, he was a monster tonight. I thought he really got great position low. He was strong with the ball. He finished, he was patient, stuff we’d kind of been talking about, and he didn’t pick up any cheap fouls, which could take him out of game,” Sagester said.
“Our offense has been efficient because our players know who they’re looking for. Two things can lose a game, it’s turnovers and bad shots. Those two things are going to get you beat at any level of basketball. Right now, we are sharing the ball (23 assist) and getting good shots and taking them in the right opportune times. I think that’s been a really good formula for our program and especially for this team,” Sagester defined.
The Patriots will put their undefeated season and undefeated WOAC record on the line next Friday as they host undefeated in the WOAC Preble Shawnee with the winner claiming the conference championship.
“Friday night is going to be a big game, Preble Shawnee is playing well, they’re lengthy, have good athleticism and you know it has never been easy. They’ve got some senior leadership who have played quite a few varsity basketball games, and they’ve won in a lot of different ways. So, we’re not expecting anything easy. We’re going to give a good effort, I’m sure. We would like to have out great community support here and behind us for this one,” Sagester concluded.
Box Scores
Team Scoring
Fenwick – Duba 0-2-0/0 – 4, Heberling 1-1-0/0 – 5, Lenz 0-3-0/0 -6, Krehe 0-3-6/8 – 12, Luers 0-3-0/0 -6, Enderle 1-1-0/0 – 5, England 1-3-0/0 – 9, Totals 3-16-6/8 – 47
Tri-Village – Black 0-12-1/4 – 26, Sagester 3-10-4/4 – 33, Hunt 0-1-2/3 – 4, Richard 0-0-2/2 – 2, Finkbine 0-1-0/0 – 2, Gray 2-1-0/0 8, Bedinghaus 0-1-0/0 – 2, Clevenger 1-0-0/0 3, Hollinger 0-1-0/0 – 2, Totals 7-26-8/13 – 82
Score by Quarters
Fenwick ..04 … 11 … 20 … 12 – 47
Tri-Village 26 … 16 … 18 … 22 – 82
