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Junior
Tyler VanWinkle gives his senior teammate, Damien Cook a big hug
after winning the D-IV boys state title
Saturday, escaping with a 48-46
win over Canal Winchester Harvest Prep. It was the first ever team
state title in any
sport for the Patriots as they capped off a perfect
season, 30-0. CNO Photos by Dylan Knoop
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Perfect season
ends with gold
Patriots win state; go 30-0
By George Starks
COLUMBUS- Tri-Village capped off a perfect 30-0 season Saturday,
winning the D-IV boys state basketball title with a harrowing 48-46
victory over Canal Winchester Harvest Prep.
But it didn’t come without a little drama… okay, a lot of drama.
Holding a nice 25-15 lead at the break, it looked like the Patriots
were in command and were going to waltz away with the state title.
With 5:31 remaining, it was the Warriors that were doing the waltzing
having gained a 37-37 tie.
With 54.6 remaining, it was 46-46.
Then it was Linkous time… Colton Linkous.
Holding the ball out on the left wing, Linkous drove right and at the
1.6 mark of the game, the Patriot senior hit the biggest shot of the
game.
A 14 footer that rolled around the rim and fell putting Tri-Village up
by a pair.
“My teammates found me open and coach was telling me on the sidelines
to go for it so I went. It wasn’t the play we were supposed to run,”
said Linkous. “I seen Damien posting up down low and I thought about
giving the ball to him.”
With 1.2 showing as time was called by Prep Harvest coach David Dennis
senior, the Warriors came in with one set play.
Looking at the length of the floor. The ball went to the coach’s son,
David Jr. Two dribbles later he launched a desperation three to win it.
With the ball looking to be online, it hit the left side of the rim,
bouncing high and hitting the floor, giving the Patriots their first
state title in school history.
“Wow, where do I start,” said Patriots coach Josh Sagester with a smile
on his face. “An awful good basketball game on Saturday kicked this
off. When that shot went up at the end of the game, it was like
watching it in slow motion. The play on the last shot was to give him
(Linkous) the ball and get out of the way.”
As any good coach will say, it all starts with defense and the Patriots
first half defense made the difference.
Tri-Village held a 13-4 lead after one and was able to bump it to a 10
point lead at the half, 25-15.
“I thought our defense was exceptional, especially in the first half,”
exclaimed Sagester. “I thought we did a good job limiting them on their
three point shot. We knew that’s what they wanted to do. They are a
very athletic team and fortunately for us, we were able to make just
enough plays on the offensive end. Our motto all year long was to find
ways to win. We went 30-0 but we didn’t play perfectly for 30 straight
games but what you do, do, is find ways to win and I’ve got a couple of
winners next to me (Linkous and Damien Cook). It’s just an unbelievable
feeling right now. George, you asked me five or six weeks ago if we
could go 30-0. I knew we had some intangibles that were very good but
it’s hard to predict 30-0 but what a year. We’ve been blessed to have
very good players, a very good community and very good parents
and that’s a good formula for us.”
It was a day when the Patriots would never trail but would see three
ties, all in the fourth quarter.
It was also a day Linkous will never forget.
Not only did he hit the game winner, Linkous (22 points/12 rebounds)
drained a trey at the buzzer, falling away, at the buzzer, giving
Tri-Village the 10 point cushion heading into intermission.
Entering the third frame, the Patriots jump up 27-15 with7:31 as
Linkous hit in the paint.
Then the doors came off the hinges as the Warriors went on a 9-0 run,
closing the gap to a 27-24 count.
Despite going back up 33-26 with 1:07 left in the quarter, the Patriots
were never able to create real separation again.
So what changed from the opening 16 minutes into the final 16?
“Well, I think their pressure defensively stirred us up but I think you
kind of found us in a desperation mode,” said Sagester. “We were
excited at halftime and they are a very good basketball team. I think I
saw more urgency out of them in the second half. The start of the
fourth quarter, we weren’t really trying to hold the basketball but we
were trying to get it in the right guy’s hands. You just have to credit
their defense. They are very athletic and when you play a team like
this, they are going to make a run and they made a few. I thought we
were just good enough to weather them.”
In addition to the 22 scored by Linkous, Cook also posted a
double/double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
In the game, the Pats hit 17-40 from the field for 42.5 percent and hit
23.1 percent from three point range.
Look for more from the post-game news conference Wednesday and my
thoughts on Thursday.
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The team rushed the floor after a desperation three from three-quarter
court by David Dennis just
missed the mark with 1.2 second left on the
game clock.
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Holding the gold, Tri-Village players hoist the state title trophy
high.
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