“I’m just really pleased with our kids’ effort, grit and fight,” said Patriots coach Josh Sagester. “I thought they battled all night long.”
Senior Jacob Pleiman had 15 points and senior Jameson Meyer added 11 for the Botkins, which finished its season 25-3. The Trojans shot just 27.7 percent from the field, including 15.8 percent in the first half.
“(Tri-Village) shot the ball well,” said Botkins coach Phil Groves. “Offensively, tonight was not our night, but part of that credit has to be given to their defense. They did a great job defensively.”
The Patriots advanced to the state tournament for the fourth time in school history and first since winning the state championship in 2015. A year ago, the Patriots fell in the regional semifinals.
“It feels really good, especially after last year didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” Sarver said. “To finally get back here and prove we could do it, it feels really special.”
Junior Justin Finkbine added 10 points as Tri-Village improved to 24-4.
“I’m just real proud of our program and real proud of our kids,” Sagester said. “I thought they played confident tonight, which I think is really important when you’re playing in games of this magnitude.”
Tri-Village will play Antwerp (26-1) in a D-IV state semifinal game at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The Archers beat Tiffin Calvert 52-31 to advance to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
The Patriots jumped out to an 11-3 first quarter lead, holding the Trojans without a field goal. They focused on helping on Pleiman in the post, while also getting a hand in the face of Botkins’ three-point shooters. Tri-Village extended its lead to 16-10 at the half.
Botkins cut the lead to one point in the third quarter on a putback by Jacob Pleiman, but the Patriots went on an 11-2 run to end the quarter, capped on a buzzer-beating layup by Josh Scantland.
The Trojans used a 7-0 run to pull within three points at 29-26 early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots countered with a 3-pointer from Wilson Suggs and a basket by Sarver to extend the lead to eight points.
“That was a huge basket,” Groves said. “It was a dagger.”
Sarver went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to help ice the game in the fourth quarter and broke free for a dunk in the final seconds to seal the Patriots trip to UD Arena.
“Layne was on display tonight,” Sagester said. “He’s special in a lot of different ways. Your big players have to make big plays in big games.”
Groves was proud of his team’s effort, especially the six seniors who helped put Botkins on the map over the last four years.
“They battled right to the end,” Groves said. “I can’t say enough about our seniors. To take us to state last year, win a state title and then come back this year, we fell a little bit short. Their leadership is second to none. I have to give credit to my seniors for the success of this program.”
The Patriots won the rematch after falling to Botkins in double overtime at the Flyin’ to the Hoop showcase in mid-January.
“They’re a very good team,” Sagester said. “(Jacob and Carter Pleiman) are exceptional players, (Jameson Meyer) is a great shooter and (Groves) has done a great job in his first year. It’s a shame somebody has to go home tonight in southwest Ohio. We’re very fortunate to be moving forward and very, very happy to be doing so.”
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