Tri-Village improved to 20-0 overall this season by making short work of Preble Shawnee 55-20 on Friday at home.
Those two teams are the only ones to have won the Western Ohio Athletic Conference title in the league’s four-year history. It is already fitting they met again in the de facto title game Friday as the last remaining unbeaten teams in league play.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
But there was no doubt which team was the king of the conference.
“Back-to-back is something we were striving for to start the year, and we were able to check that off tonight by a pretty dominant performance,” Trey Sagester said.
The Patriots jumped out to a 13-0 lead in front of a packed crowd inside of their gym nicknamed “The Battleground”. They didn’t even need the team and league’s leading scorer to produce any points early. Junior Griffin Richards hit a pair of threes, while sophomore Brecken Gray got in on the action and junior Dom Black converted second-chance opportunities around the basket.
“[Griffin] and [Brecken] had some big shots for us to get us that cushion,” Patriots head coach Josh Sagester said. “That’s what makes our team awful good. We got a lot of guys that are capable.”
The defensive play across the floor for Tri-Village was the true star of the night.
Tri-Village (20-0, 11-0) didn’t allow more than six points in any quarter. Preble Shawnee didn’t turn the ball over much and remained patient on offense while looking for quality scoring chances.
They just didn’t pop up with any regularity.
Josh Sagester said urgency and relentlessness are what he likes his team bringing with them each night on the defensive end.
“They understand in big games that sometimes offensively kids are pressing and sometimes it’s sloppy, but at the end of the day that defense has to be a mainstay and if you guard every night at a high level, you’re usually going to give yourself a chance to win. Our program is really built on that,” he said.
The difference in confidence was noticeable for the Arrows when they both couldn’t score and couldn’t get stops.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
When they did hold Tri-Village scoreless for four minutes to begin the second quarter, the Arrows were able to bring down a 13-point deficit to seven. The Patriots, however, only needed less than two minutes to get their advantage back up to 15.
That’s when senior Trey Sagester finally got on the board and began to heat up. The leading scorer in the WOAC scored seven quick points including a put-back shot off his own miss at the buzzer to give the Patriots a 34-12 lead at halftime.
His first points scored in the second half moved him to the top of the school’s all-time scoring list. His 13-point night put him at 1,916 points and counting for his career.
The game briefly stopped as he was presented a ceremonial basketball which he immediately ran across the floor with to give to his mother, Traci, sitting in the stands.
“I think the WOAC title was more special than the record that I broke tonight,” he said. “The record goes to everybody, not just me. They have to pass me the ball and get me open, so thanks to everybody on the team that I’ve played with through four years. That’s a big accomplishment for me, but also the teams I played with for four years.”
The second half was a mere formality as the Patriots continued to increase their lead without allowing another basket by the Arrows until a running clock had already been established.
Preble Shawnee (17-4, 10-1) did not hit a three during the game and only had one made free throw.
Preble Shawnee were one of the best teams in the WOAC this season, but weren’t in the same league as Tri-Village on Friday.
Tri-Village will clinch the top-seed for the postseason Southwest District tournament in Division VI. Josh Sagester said they have a plan to likely choose a path leading through Cincinnati schools when the draw occurs on Sunday, but no plans are set in stone.
Tri-Village still has a home game against Fort Recovery on Saturday before playing a make-up game at Vandalia Butler on Tuesday. Preble Shawnee closes its regular season Tuesday at Franklin.
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