NEW MADISON – Tri-Village splashed in eight 3-pointers for 24 points Friday night and won by 25 points, 65-40, over Miami East.
Miami East cast in nine 3-pointers but could only connect for two regular baskets for the entire 32 minutes of action. This was one of Coach Josh Sagester’s finest efforts on the defensive end by holding the well-coached Vikings to 4 points inside the arc.
Miami East dropped down to 9-9 overall and 4-5 in the Cross County Conference. Tri-Village improved to 11-5 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
The first quarter firings showed the Patriots down 3-2 at the 6:12 mark then proceeded to shoot in 12 straight points for a 14-3 lead. Dalton Taynor made Miami East’s only points with a 3-pointer for the Miami County squad. Tri-Village on the other hand had the upper hand as senior Gavin Richards knocked in 4 points, junior Jared Buckley 3, junior Trey Frech had 2, junior Christian Ricker had 2 and senior big man Trace Couch had 2 for the Patriots’ 14 markers.
The second quarter was a little more even as Miami East had its best quarter by scoring 18 points for a total of 21 to Tri-Village’s total of 16 in the quarter to make the scoreboard read 30-21 going into the locker room. Lighting up the score board for the Vikings was Logan West, who popped in 7, followed closely by Dalton Taynor with 6. Tri-Village’s Patriots showed Couch with 7, Richards with 4, Frech with 3 and Ricker with 2.
The third quarter offerings showed Tri-Village winning the third quarter scoring battle by a total of 14-11 for a 44-32 count heading into the last canto. Cam Coomes led with 6 to lead the aerial assault for the Vikings. Tri-Village had Couch and Richards knocking in 4 each while following closely was senior Jonny Wilson and junior Dillon McCullough with 3 each.
The fourth quarter fisticuffs show Tri-Village blowing the game open with a 21-8 quarter. Miami East only had Justin Brown for 5 points to lead the fast-sinking Vikings. Tri-Village countered with its scoring onslaught led by Couch with 8, Richards 6, Frech 6 and Ricker 1. Tri-Village continued to use its staunch defense to shut down West and the rest of the Vikings for an important league victory.
“We played really well tonight on the offensive and defensive front, and I would like to mention Trace Couch’s work on the defensive end as he has been most noted for his offensive punch,” Sagester said. “It was an all-around good game for us as we were able to shut their leading scorer down to 9 points with no one getting into double figures and also holding them to two regular field goals for the whole game. We shot the ball well and were able to make eight 3s beyond the arc. Defense was the name of the game for us as we gave up some points from the perimeter, but we were able to stop the big man West underneath. We were very efficient in all phases of the game tonight.”
Total scoring for coach Allen Mack’s Vikings showed Logan West with 9 points, Dalton Taynor 9, Justin Brown 8, Cam Coomes 6, Austin Rutledge 3, Dylan Hahn 3 and Austin Kearns with 2. The Vikings had two regulars, nine 3-pointers and nine free throws for their 40 total.
Tri-Village was led by Trace Couch with 21 points, Gavin Richards with 18, Trey Frech 12, Christian Ricker 5, Jared Buckley 3, Dillon McCullough 3 and Jonny Wilson popped in 3 for the total of 65. Total ledger account read 15 regulars, eight 3-pointers and 11 out of 13 from the stripe for 85 percent accuracy.