|
|
To
look at their faces, one would think they had lost their best
friends. Long after the state semi-final win
Thursday, 55-47, over
Tuscarawas Central Catholic, the game faces never came off. Tri-Village
will face its last
hurdle today for the state title as Canal Winchester
Harvest Prep will be on the other side. The Warriors
topped Wayne Trace
in the opening D-IV game Thursday, 63-53. CNO Photos by George Starks
|
|
Patriots
advance to state final
Harvest Prep the final hurdle
By George Starks
COLUMBUS - “As you can see the expressions on their face, you probably
can’t tell if they won or lost. That’s kind of how we’ve been all year
long, especially this group. They’ve been very poised. No roller
coasters. Pretty even keeled. Obviously they’re excited, but this might
be the most excitement you’re going to get out them.”
Those were the words of Tri-Village coach Josh Sagester during the
post-game press conference Thursday after the 29-0 Patriots downed New
Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic (TCC), 55-47, winning their
state semi-final game.
On a day when not being at their best was still good enough to win,
Sagester addressed the somewhat lackluster play the Patriots brought to
the table.
“Was it our best game of basketball in our last 29 games,” Sagester
asked. “Not necessarily but I think our kids made enough good plays and
found a way to win. Every time we started to pad our lead a little bit,
they would hit a couple of big shots and I think that’s kind of been
their M/O, especially the last couple of weeks. They’ve made some big
shots and found ways to win as well.”
Making big shots was exactly what the Saints did.
Coming out of the break, TCC, trailing 23-16, started to gain that
momentum.
After closing to 29-27, the Patriots countered the 9-6 Saints run with
a three from trey from senior Mason McCabe at the 2:41 mark of the
quarter.
The Saints bounced back with a foul shot by Tyler Colombo with 2:30
remaining in the frame and a three from Austin Dick 42 seconds later,
closing the gap to a 32-31 count.
One point would be the only separation with eight minutes left to play
as the two teams would exchange buckets for a 34-33 score.
Despite shooting 65.6 percent from the field, senior Colton Linkous
echoed the sentiments of Sagester.
“I thought it wasn’t our best basketball,” Linkous said. “We made some
big plays, like Coach said. Give credit to the other team; they came
out ready to play. They were sticking with us, hitting some shots when
they needed to. We just made some extra plays and fought through
adversity.”
Heading into the final quarter, the Patriots were able to keep the
Saints at arm’s length but it was McCabe that set the ball in motion.
With 6:31 remaining in the game, McCabe drilled a trey, giving the Pats
a slim 40-36 advantage.
That bucket brought out a massive fist pump from the senior and
seemingly started to ignite a firse under the Patriots.
“These guys to me left (Linkous and Cook) hit some big shots but this
guy to my left (McCabe) hit some of the biggest shots of the
game,” said Sagester. “Obviously, you go as your seniors go and if you
look at their production today, they were pretty darn good.”
Despite the Saints keeping the pressure on, the Patriots never seemed
to waiver under that pressure.
“Again with the expressions on their faces, you really can’t tell if
they won or lost,” Sagester exclaimed. “There has been no roller
coasters on this team. Obviously, they’re excited but this might be the
most excitement you’re going to get out of them”
It was a year ago when the Patriots lost to Convoy Crestview, the
eventual state champions.
“I think last year, we were just happy to be here,” said Sagester.
“Now, they kinda knew what to expecy and they’re on a mission. Having
these guys back from last year was huge, even from a coaching
standpoint. I was more comfortable in my skin and I told them I’d do a
better job for them on the sideline then I did for them last year.
Weather I did that or not, I don’t know but I felt more comfortable
over there knowing what to expect. I thought my players played a lot
more relaxed. You’re going to make some mistakes in the game of
basketball but I thought my kids were poines and played through some
things.”
Pounding the ball into the post, mostly to Cook, it was obvious the
Saints had no answer for the Patriots powerhouse.
“It’s no secret,” said Sagester. “I told them in the locker room that
we don’t need anything more or anything less than what we’ve been
doing. The formula’s been fairly successful and that means riding your
horses and get the ball where it needs to go.”
The horses carried the Patriots right from the beginning.
At the end of the half, Cook had netted 10 while Linkous tallied eight.
All in the paint.
At games end, Cook led the way (24) with Linkous putting in 15 and
McCabe 10, accounting for 49 of the Pats 55 points.
Part of the Pats success happened in the second frame as T-V held TCC
to only six points after a 10-10 marker after one.
“I thought we did a really good job, especially in the second quarter,
of keeping (Michael) Teater (9 points) out of the lane,” Sagester said
of his team’s defense. “We knew that was going to be a key because he
creates for their other guys.”
The win was number 200 in the career of Sagester
“I’ve been coming down here for a long time with my dad, trying to
figure out what exact formula do you need to get here because I was
tired of sitting in the stands,” he said. “It just so happens that I
got a couple guys next to me that kind of fit that bill.”
The Patriots will play Harvest Prep at 10:30 Saturday morning for the
D-IV state title.
“They’re a good team, obviously,” Sagester said. “Athletic. They’ve
been here before. And kind of like the same situation we were, I don’t
know that they … they would probably tell you that they probably didn’t
play their best basketball last year as well, and they wanted another
opportunity. I’m going to enjoy this for a little bit and try to go to
work the next couple days to try to get our kids prepared for what
we’re going to see on Saturday morning.”
|
|
Tri-Village senior Damien Cook battles for a rebound against a player
from Central Catholic in the opening
half Thursday. Cook finished with
24 points and eight rebounds in the Patriots victory.
|
|
Senior Colton Linkous hits for two of his 15 in the paint.
|
|
Mason McCabe scored 10 for Tri-Village in the victory over the Saints.
|
|
|
|
