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Tri-Village senior Gavin Richards hits for two in the paint for the
Patriots. Richards scored a
game high 24 in the 73-26 Cross County
Conference victory Friday against the
North Panthers. CNO Photos by
George Starks
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Patriots declaw
North Panthers
By George Starks
NEW MADISON- Coming off a hard fought six point loss to Versailles on
Monday, many thought Tri-Village might have a bit of a letdown Friday
against Tri-County North.
“That’s always in the back of your mind,” said Patriots coach Josh
Sagester.
Throw that thought out of the window.
Tri-Village jumped out to a 12-0 lead at the 4:40 mark of the first
quarter and never looked back.
Led by seniors Gavin Richards (24 points), Trace Couch (15 points, 17
rebounds) and 14 from junior Jerrod Buckley, the Patriots rolled to a
73-26 Cross County Conference victory Friday.
“I thought our energy and our urgency was really good,” said Patriots
coach Josh Sagester. “Our defensive pressure set the tone from the very
beginning. I though we rebounded the ball very well. Our point of
emphasis was offensive rebounding a lately, we haven’t gotten any. I
thought we really went after some basketballs.”
With defense taking control, the Patriots were bullish on the Panthers.
At the end of the opening frame, Tri-Village had forced seven
turnovers, scoring on many of them as the defense set the table for the
offense.
On the glass, T-V controlled everything, out rebounding the hapless
Panthers, 37-18 with 13 coming on the offensive end, six by Couch.
By the end of the half, Richards had netted 16 of his 24 points while
Couch had 15 points and 12 boards to his credit.
“I though Richards and Couch set the tone for us early,” Sags pointed
out. “Couch is a beast on the boards and is very hard for anyone to
match up with.”
With the accolades going to the two seniors, Sagester had high praise
for Buckley and Christian Ricker.
“These two were dynamite tonight. They were warriors,” Sagester said.
“The better these two get, the better we’re going to be and I was
really proud of those guys. Buckley has pretty much come in to his own.
He doesn’t have a ton of varsity action but those two guys gave us a
ton of energy. ”
Sagester had high praise for TCN on this night.
“North has got some athletic kids and sometimes you run into a
buzz saw,” Sagester said.
“We played really hard against Versailles and made a few mental
mistakes Monday,” Sagester continued. “Those mistakes cost us late.
Versailles is a very good basketball team but I think we gained some
confidence as well. We just have to get better before tournament time.
It’s that simple.”
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Senior
Trace Couch looks for an outlet after getting a rebound. Couch
scored 15 and pulled
down 17 rebounds against Tri-County North.
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