NEW MADISON – The Tri-Village Patriots stayed perfect on the season Saturday night, using balanced scoring and second-half control to defeat visiting Troy Christian 60-43 in non-conference varsity boys basketball action.
“I thought our kids really played well tonight,” said Tri-Village coach Josh Sagester. “I thought they played hard.”
Tri-Village placed three players in double figures, led by senior Trey Sagester’s game-high 24 points. Dom Black added 18 points with consistent production in the paint, while sophomore Brecken Gray scored all 12 of his points from beyond the arc, knocking down four 3-pointers.
“We had good contributions across the board with guys playing hard,” Sagester said. “We executed the game plan and got up.”
The Patriots took a 16-12 lead after one quarter behind six points from Sagester, four paint points from Black, and first-quarter 3-pointers from Noah Finkbine and Gray. Tri-Village extended the margin to 30-22 at halftime after a 14-10 second quarter, with Black scoring eight points inside as the Eagles continued to hang around.
Tri-Village created separation in the third quarter, outscoring Troy Christian 21-9 to seize control. Sagester poured in 11 points in the period, including a 3-pointer, while Gray drilled his third and fourth triples of the night. The surge sent the Patriots to the final period with a commanding 51-31 advantage.
“Trey had to work, but he was able to get what he usually gets for us,” Sagester said. “He can score in so many different ways, and it’s hard to take him away for 32 minutes. We were also able to get Dom the basketball in the paint—he’s a load. That inside-outside presence really helps us. Brecken played pretty well for us tonight and hit timely shots.”
Tri-Village coasted home from there, despite Troy Christian taking the fourth quarter 12-9, to secure the 17-point victory.
Trey Sagester, the Western Ohio Athletic Conference’s leading scorer at 25.3 points per game, is converting at an efficient rate—40% from beyond the arc, 52% overall, and 87.5% at the free throw line; he led Tri-Village and all scorers with a game-high 24 points, including 9-9 from the charity stripe.
BOX SCORE:
TRI-VILLAGE 60, TROY CHRISTIAN 43
TRI-VILLAGE – T. Sagester 24, D. Black 18, B. Gray 12, N. Finkbine 4, G. Richards 2 – TOTALS 14 14-16 6 60
TROY CHRISTIAN – N. Fetcher 14, R. Taylor 11, A. Stangel 6, A. Taylor 5, B. Hochwalt 3, C. George 2, G. Wilkins 2 – TOTALS 9 4-4 7 43
3-POINTERS
Tri-Village 6 (B. Gray 4, T. Sagester 1, N. Finkbine 1)
Troy Christian 7 (R. Tylor 3, N. Fecher 2, A. Taylor 1, B. Hochwalt 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
16-14-21-09 60 Tri-Village
12-10-09-12 43 Troy Christian
