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Tri-Village senior Tyler VanWinkle is roughed up a bit as he drives to
the bucket during first
half actionFriday against Yellow Springs. The
Patriots fell to the Bulldogs, 51-50 and was
eliminated from state
tournament play. CNO Photos by Dylan Knoop
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No repeat for Patriots in 2016
TV bows out in
sectional final
By George Starks
TROY- For the first time in four years, Tri-Village will not be playing
in a District final.
It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that the team to make the last
buckets would win.
Senior Tyler VanWinkle drained a trey at the buzzer but it wasn’t
meant to be.
In the sectional final played at Troy, it was Yellow Springs that put a
stop to the Patriots four year dominance with a 51-50 thriller.
On a night when the Patriots had their share of opportunities to get
and hold a lead, it wasn’t a good night not to play Tri-Village
basketball.
“It’s a tough way to go out, not playing your best,” said TV coach Josh
Sagester. “My seniors had a very good career. Hopefully, we’ll learn
from this and the young guys will figure out what to do at this level
and we’ll get better.”
In a game that was back and forth in the first half (eight lead changes
and three ties) it was the Bulldogs that held leads of 14-11 after one
and 25-21 at the half.
The difference on the scoreboard for Yellow Springs came in the form of
offensive rebounds.
The Bulldogs came away with six offensive boards leading to nine second
chance points.
Losing that battle was only part of the story for the Patriots.
Tri-Village missed some clutch free throws, despite hitting on 17 of 23
attempts.
“We missed some foul shots and that was a glaring issue,” said
Sagester. “We missed some plays around the rim that they transitioned
into a bucket or a free throw. They had some kids make shots. We knew
they were free-wheeling and they were going to put up shots. Tonight,
we couldn’t get over the hump. They (YS) were tough enough internally
to make those tough shots. We didn’t track some loose balls down the
way we should have. It seems like they might have been a little
hungrier on the boards down there.”
It’s the end of an era for seniors Brett Boyter, Knox Morris, Brandon
Peters and VanWinkle.
“I think over his carrer, Tyler VanWinkle if like 77-6,” said Sagester.
“That’s tough to replace. Knox, Brett and Brandon all three are kids
that worked hard in our program and were given opportunities to play
some meaningful minutes. We’re real proud of them.”
Sagester made a comparison of high school basketball to the NBA.
“High school basketball is a one shot game,” admitted Sagester. “In the
NBA, you play a series and usually the best team will win the series
but when you play a one game shot in high school basketball, anything
can happen.”
The Patriots end the 2016 campaign with a 21-4 record and were Cross
County Conference co-champions with Miami East.
Saturday wasn’t a great day again for Darke County teams as the
Versailles Lady Tigers are the lone county team left in the tournament.
Saturday, at Springfield, Versailles thrashed Waynesville, 58-32 to
clinch the D-III District title.
Tri-Village fell to Jackson Center in the D-IV District game, 48-43.
In the boys D-III sectional played at Nothmont, Versailles lost a
squeaker, 51-49 to Miami East.
The Lady Tigers will meet West-Liberty Wednesday at 8 p.m. at
Springfield in the regional semi-finals.
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Patriots junior Gavin Richards his for two of his game
high 18 points
against the Bulldogs.
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