Three pointers lead Tri-Village to home win over Belmont

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By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

NEW MADISON — The Tri-Village High School boys’ basketball team cruise through their home opener with a 62-25 win over Belmont High School.

Head coach Josh Sagester said the team has been anxious to get out and play in the new Patriot Activity Center. They were able to get their first win on the new court on their first try.

“Thankfully we were able to get the win here on opening night. I thought we had good energy. I thought our starters came out and set the tone right from the beginning, especially defensively,” Sagester said.

The Patriots led 22-6 after the first quarter and 37-18 at halftime. Tri-Village was able to get open looks during the first half and capitalized on most of them.

They were able to score inside and out. Senior Justin Finkbine was in full control of the paint. He had 10 points at halftime.

Then in the second half, the three point shooting stole the show. The team made 10 three pointers in the game. Tri-Village was able to run plays to get their shooters open. At times, even the shooters created their own space to get their shot off.

Sagester said he has players that have the special ability to knock it down from long range. Unlike last year, they have multiple players who can lead the team in scoring on any given night.

“We’re a little different than last year where we had that one guy that was going for 20 or 30 a night. We’ve got guys that are capable of doing that, but we got multiple guys that are capable of getting hot and making a few shots and score in bunches,” Sagester said.

Sagester also changed up the defense for this game. He said while they normally want to defend the whole court, he felt it was best in this matchup to get back and set up their half court defense.

It was a successful change as Tri-Village was able to hold the Bisons in check defensively. This type of defense could help the Patriots when they face more tough teams during the season.

“You have to be good in the half court to beat really good teams. You got to be able to defend in the half court and you got to be able to execute in the half court,” Sagester said. “For the most part, we did that pretty well and didn’t give up driving lanes.”

After the third quarter, the Patriots broke it open with a 53-23 lead.

Senior Wilson Suggs led the team in scoring with 17 points and tied for the team lead with three made three-pointers. Freshman Trey Sagester also had made three three-pointers and ended the game with nine points. Finkbine went scoreless in the second half and finished with his 10 points.

The Patriots will now wait nearly a week for their next game. They will host WOAC rival Newton on Dec. 9 at the PAC.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]

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