NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Patriots had no trouble easily defeating the visiting Tri-County North Panthers 87-20 in WOAC action with a second-half running clock in play.
“We have a lot of firepower,” said veteran Tri-Village coach, Josh Sagester. “This is probably one of the most offensive conscience teams I’ve had in a while. We can score in a hurry especially when you make shots like we did early on. It always looks a little better when the ball goes through.”
It took nearly a minute for the Patriots to dent the board before scoring 21 points over the next four minutes to lead 21-2 with three minutes remaining in the opening period. Braden Keating paced Tri-Village with 16 first-quarter points including four 3-pointers, a 2-point basket, and 2-2 at the line. Trey Sagester chipped in 11 first-quarter points by way of three triples and a 2-point bucket to give the Patriots a hefty 36-5 lead after one-quarter of action.
Period No. 2 went to Tri-Village by a 20-5 count sending the teams to the break with the Patriots holding a commanding 56-10 advantage. Sagester led the Patriots’ second quarter, scoring 7 points including his fourth trey of the first half, Noah Finkbine and Reed Wehr each canned two baskets for 4 points, Keating drilled his fifth 3-pointer of the half and Jayden Hollinger knocked down a bucket to round out second quarter scoring.
“Braden Keating was on fire in the first half, especially the first quarter and Trey (Sagester) found his groove as well,” Sagester noted. “If those two guys can make shots like that we’re going to be competitive on most nights.”
With a running clock in play the entire second half, Tri-Village outscored the visitors 17-6 in the third giving the Patriots a 73-16 lead with one quarter to play. Keating led Tri-Village with 7 third quarter points including his sixth triple of the night.
“Reed Wehr can cover a lot of ground whether that’s on the pass or the dribble,” Sagester said of the Patriots’ defense. “We have a lot of unsung heroes who are doing their job and playing to their strength right now. Defensively I think all the guys have bought in and finish hard.”
With the Patriots starters work done for the night Dom Black (4-points}, Finkbine, and Kayson Hollinger (3-points), and Griffin Richards and J. Hollinger (2-points) led Tri-Village to a 14-4 third quarter to earn the 67-point WOAC win.
“We have done a good job of sharing the ball,” said Sagester. “We have some guys who understand what we’re trying to get accomplished. Pretty proud of our effort tonight.”
Tri-Village shot 69 percent from the field including 11 triples, had 19 assists and racked up 23 steals on the night.
Keating led Tri-Village and all scorers with a game-high 26 points and Sagester added 22 Patriots’ points.
BOXSCORE:
TRI-VILLAGE 87, TRI-COUNTY NORTH 20
TRI-VILLAGE – B. Keating 26, T. Sagester 22, T. Printz 9, N. Finkbine 7, R. Wehr 6, J. Hollinger 6, K. Hollinger 5, D. Balck 4, F. Richards 2 – TOTALS 22 10-14 11 87
TRI-COUNTY NORTH – L. Flory 9, P. Overcash 6, T. Williamson 3, C. Flory 2 . – TOTALS 7 3-5 1 20
3-POINTERS
Tri-Village 11 (B. Keating 6, T. Sagester 4, T. Printz 1)
Tri-County North 1 (L. Flory 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
36-20-17-14 87 Tri-Village
05-05-06-04 10 Tri-County North
