By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

NEW MADISON — The Tri-Village Patriots continue to dominate to start the season as they cruised through Talawanda on Dec. 16, 75-24, at the Patriot Activity Center.

Head coach Josh Sagester said it all started with the defense. They were able to shut down Talawanda’s top scorers and generate turnovers.

“I thought we really set the tone defensively. Our guys out front are pretty relentless with their pressure and their positioning and they’re hungry,” Sagester said.

Early in the first quarter, it was a 7-7 tie. With about 3:30 left in the quarter, the Patriots were on a 7-0 run and up 14-7. By the end of the quarter, they were up 23-7.

The full court pressure started to bother Talawanda. The Patriots were getting turnovers and ran out in transition to score.

Sagester said while they didn’t score as well as in their game against Tri-County North on Dec. 15, they still were able to finish around the rim and make a few shots outside.

Talawanda didn’t score again until around the four-minute mark of the second quarter. The Tri-Village defense was hounding the Braves and didn’t let up. The Patriots controlled the game with their defensive pressure.

Tri-Village held a 49-15 lead at halftime. The team made five three-point shots in the first half. In the second half, they attacked the paint more.

Sagester said everybody executed in their roles from the leaders, to the scorers to the post players. He said senior Jadyn Hollinger had a nice game finishing around the rim and rebounding the ball. Hollinger has been a energizer for the team.

Sagester also said freshman Dom Black has been showing improvement already with each game. He said Black is getting more comfortable on the floor and has a good feel for where guys are as a passer and has a soft touch around the basket.

The whole team has bought into their role and have played their role well so far.

“We got a lot of guys being elite in their roles. Accepting and buying what we’re selling. I think that’s pretty apparent on the floor. Guys who are dirty work guys are doing the dirty work. Guys who can score the ball for us are doing those items,” Sagester said.

It was more of the same in the second half. The players were making the right passes and not playing out of their role or system.

They didn’t try to force any selfish shots or didn’t try to get too cute. Tri-Village continued to play their style and worked for the best team shot. Sagester said the team enjoys playing with each other, that could be the reason they continued to play team basketball throughout this contest.

“Our chemistry is really good. Our kids enjoy playing with each other. That’s a positive. Everybody in that room is embracing and accepting of what their role is and doing what they’re good at,” Sagester said. “At the end of the day, you play to your strengths. If you want to look good out here on the floor, you do what you’re good at, not what you’re not.”

Sophomore Trey Sagester led the team with 20 points and three made three-pointers. Hollinger had 14 points, senior Tanner Printz had 11 points and senior Braden Keating had 10 points.

Tri-Village is now 3-0 on the season with a 2-0 WOAC record. They’ve averaged 84.3 points a game and have allowed an average of 20.3 points a game. Their average margin of victory has been 64 points so far in the first three games.

Sagester said they will only continue to get better from here. He also said it’s important to get out to a good start with a more inexperienced team, and they have just done that so far.

The Patriots will head to Newton on Dec. 19 with tip off set for 7:15 p.m. They will then host Arcanum on Dec. 22 starting with the JV at 6 p.m. and then host Georgetown on Dec. 23 with the JV starting at 4:30 p.m.

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