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Tri-Village
junior Damien Cook hits for two in the paint against Bethel
Friday. It may have been
one of the greatest comebacks on the history
of Patriot basketball. CNO photos by Dylan Knoop
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A wild and crazy night
By George Starks
NEW MADISON - If I wouldn’t have seen it with my own eyes, I probably
never would have believed it.
I’ve been covering prep sports since 1987, and I honestly can’t
remember if a Tri-Village basketball team has ever been shut out in the
first quarter of any game.
I seriously don’t remember any Patriot team ever coming back from 20
points down with one quarter left to play, to win a game on a buzzer
beater in overtime.
Friday night at ‘The Battleground’ in New Madison, most, including
myself, thought there was no way the Patriots were going to remain
undefeated, trailing 45-25 with eight minutes left to play in
regulation.
The Bethel defense had the number of Patriots offense.
A sagging 2-3 zone was spelling doom for Tri-Village. When an entry
pass was made to the post, the Bees swarmed senior Tyler Cook.
At one point, Cook went to the hole only to have his shot rejected as
it bounced off the wall in the first quarter.
To make matters worse, Tri-Village couldn’t hit a shot from the
outside, throwing up two air balls in the first half. This allowed the
Bees to continue to sag down on anyone in the post. This included
drives to the bucket by junior Colton Linkous and junior Damien Cook.
It took the home standing Patriots three quarters to get back into a
blow-out game, but on a wild and crazy night, it all started to fall
into place.
A shot here and a shot there forced the Bees zone to pull out, and
that’s when the insanity started.
When Tyler VanWinkle hit a deuce and Mason McCabe (3 treys) as well as
Linkous (nine points) started to connect, the post area opened up for
the Cook cousins, Tyler (15 points) and Damien (17 points/14 rebounds).
One of the biggest comebacks in school history had started and it took
most of the final stanza for it to actually sink into my brain that
Tri-Village actually had a chance of pulling this game out.
With 16.8 seconds left in regulation and the scoreboard showing a 53-53
reading, the Patriots had a shot but fell short.
The buzzer beater by VanWinkle, in overtime, capped off the big
comeback.
It reminded me of a first round upset in the NCAA tournament.
A kid hits a shot at the buzzer to pull off a huge upset.
In this case, VanWinkle did it to Bethel and a few of the Bees were
face first on the floor with tears flowing.
It was one of those games when it was a shame that someone had to lose.
I have to give head coach Josh Sagester, his staff, and most of all,
his team, credit for pulling off the unimaginable.
I don’t know if I will ever see another comeback of this nature as my
career as a journalist is winding down, but I do know this.
I will probably never see a game of this nature ever again.
Keeping the 2014 Tri-Village motto in mind, Mission Possible, the
Patriots lived up to their mission of another perfect season, what
seemed impossible remained possible.
Bottom line: Tri-Village won and with that victory, the Patriots made
it 43 straight regular season wins.
Moreover, the Pats remained undefeated, setting up the big showdown.
The Patriots have several games on the docket but the biggest comes
February 4 at home with Franklin Monroe.
Currently, both teams are undefeated in the Cross County Conference.
The game was originally scheduled to be played the second Friday of the
season, but due to inclement weather, was forced to be played on the
upcoming Tuesday date.
The junior varsity is set to start at 6 p.m., and the DRAMA will start
20 minutes after the completion of the game.
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The
Patriots celebrate a big win over their CCC rivals from Bethel
after posting a 58-55 overtime victory.
The win was the 43rd
consecutive regular season win for Josh Sagester and the Patriots.
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Tri-Village
coach Josh Sagester shouts instructions to his team
in the fourth
quarter of a huge come from behind win Friday at 'The
Battleground'.
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