TROY – The Tri-Village boys basketball team dispatched Miami Valley in a 2nd round OHSAA DVI tournament game 79-34, that also saw Trey Sagester surpass 2000 career points.
Coming in senior guard Trey Sagester needed just 13 points, and he got number 13 and 14 on a steal and a made lay-up midway through the 1st quarter, to land on 2001 in his career.
Coach Josh Sagester would call a timeout to present Trey the game ball, and he went into the stands to give to his mom. Sitting just off to the left of his mom, and grandma was sister Rylee, who’s a starting guard at Wright State University and happened to get the evening off to come see her little brother play.
2001 would be the same number of points Rylee Sagester scored in her career, reached in the D4 state title game in 2023 on her last shot of her career, to earn the 30-0 Lady Patriots a State Championship.
“It’s a big moment to get 2000 and to see Trey get it was special,” Rylee said.
Trey was happy to see her and in jest made a statement, which I asked Rylee later what it was he said.
“He said, we’re tied, for now,” Rylee stated. As both had 2001 points.
“That tugged on my heartstrings a little bit … tied for now,” Rylee said.
Then Trey trotted out on the court, a few plays later, he rose up and hit a jumper, then looked up into the stands at Rylee to let her know he is now the leading scorer in the Sagester family.
But Trey acknowledged Rylee has a record he will never break.
“She is the States All-Time 3-point record holder with 401 in her career, plus she has won a state championship,” Trey commented.
While he can’t break her 3-point record, Trey and his teammates can still bring home an undefeated state championship.
Rylee having been in the same spot at Trey a few years ago had some advice for Trey.
“The games are obviously going to get tougher as you go on, but just staying within the confines of what you can do is really important. I think being consistent and definitely being able to make a three is going to come in handy, for sure, with some of the big teams they have coming up, just keep playing the way they have been,” Rylee explained.
2000 points is a lot, and I wondered as a little kid growing up, loving the game, if Trey could ever see himself scoring that many.
2000 points was definitely not on my mind. Growing up, I was just happy to play and maybe a 1000 points and I got there. Then tonight, obviously, 2000 was accomplishable, and I got it done, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Trey said.
Another reporter asked Trey if he ever considered the list of players in the State of Ohio that scored 2000 points and what that meant to be included with them.
“There are some great players that have played, there’s some great players still playing on that list. I know Cam Elwer (Delphos St. Johns) is about to pass Lebron James and that will be a great accomplishment for him. So, it’s a great list, and I’m proud to be part of it,” Trey said.
Coach Josh Sagester weighed in on his son’s accomplishment as well.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for him. You know, we don’t talk about him a lot,” Josh said.
“Number one, he’s, been around a long time, which has been a good thing for our program. He’s played with a lot of good players that found him, screened for him, rebounded for him.” Sagester commented.
“The next thing, I would say, he’s a winner. I think that’s his 94th career win in four years.
So, he was able to do that by winning basketball games. Sometimes, scoring a lot of points gets lost in the shuffle if you’re not winning. So being able to score and win, is what separates you, from being good, to being great. Trey has had an awful good basketball career for our program, and for him to score 2000 and be our all-time leading scorer, I think that says a lot,” Josh added.
“We’ve had some really, really good players during my time…and before my time, so it’s quite an accomplishment, for our family and for him as a player, and hopefully we’re not done.
The Patriots have their eye on a bigger things, now 24-0 after the win over Miami Valley, a game that saw everyone get playing time and most everyone ended up in the scorebook.
Trey led all scorers with 20 points, Noah Finkbine 14, Griffin Richards 13, Dom Black 8, Kaysyn Hollinger 7, Brecken Gray and Colton Clevenger 6 each, and Carson Bedinghaus 5.
Scoring 2000 points is a big deal, and now Trey sits alone atop the Sagester scoring list, but he is reminded that numbers are only part of the story; something even more compelling is the journey Trey and his teammates have taken together and will continue to do.
“My dad and sister both have one thing I don’t have, yet! They’ve won a state championship. Hopefully, my teammates and I can do it as well … it something we plan to do step by step and day by day,” Trey concluded.
The journey continues as Tri-Village advances to the District Title game to be played 2pm Saturday, at Middletown High School. They will play the Georgetown vs Oyler winner.
