By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school boys basketball games from Jan. 26 – 28.

Jan. 26: Franklin Monroe 33 (11-5, 5-2) vs Tri-Village 41 (15-1, 7-0)

It was a close game throughout as both teams battled for four quarters. The Jets led at halftime, 19-12. Franklin Monroe head coach Troy Myers said the team’s preparation helped them get to a good start.

“I think our preparation put us in a good position. Our guys executed scout really well. I think they understood the plan defensively,” Myers said. “They’re a dangerous team. You try to key on one, then there’s a couple others that can really hurt you. The score reflects that. I thought we did a good job defensively.”

Tri-Village struggled to get good looks against the Franklin Monroe defense in the first half. They also couldn’t get shots to go down when they got a clean shot off.

Tri-Village head coach Josh Sagester said it took awhile for the team to regain their composure. The team started to get into foul trouble early and couldn’t turn the switch on in the first half.

“We lost our composure. It’s good for us to be able to respond a little bit. It took us awhile to respond, we didn’t respond immediately. It’s been pretty easy for us, tonight it wasn’t,” Sagester said.

Tri-Village sophomore Trey Sagester tied the game, 24-24, with a three with about 3:20 left in the quarter. Franklin Monroe gained the upper hand late as sophomore Lucas Brenner drained a three to put the Jets up 29-28 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 4:02 left, it was tied 30-30. Sagester said the press they played all game long started to show it’s effect as Franklin Monroe started to get a bit tired.

Trey Sagester scored the go ahead bucket and senior Braden Keating followed it up with a layup to go up four points. They started to grab the momentum.

Franklin Monroe went down swinging as senior Gage Wackler drained a three to make it a 36-33 game with about a minute left still in the Patriots favor.

Myers said while they shot themselves in the foot in the last three minutes of the game, his team grew up a ton in this game. They showed what they have believed for a long time now, they’re a team that can compete with a lot of good teams.

“We feel like we have a team that can compete at the top of this conference. Against Preble, we didn’t show that. Tonight, we reflected that better. For these guys to understand that we played some really good teams really close, hopefully in the next weeks of our season we figure out a way to win some of these close games and be prepared for a tournament run,” Myers said.

Franklin Monroe junior Eric Brenner led the team with 13 points. Junior EB Fall had nine points.

For Tri-Village, Trey Sagester had 14 points and Keating had 11. Sophomore Noah Finkbine scored all nine of his points in the second half.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Jan. 27: Tri-Village 44 vs Troy Christian 28 (12-2, 9-0)

The Patriots pick up another big win as they defeated Troy Christian behind a stellar fourth quarter performance. They outscored the Eagles, 14-2, in the final quarter.

Sagester said the last two games for them showed how tough they are and how well they are playing defensively.

“What a defensive effort. Hold this team to 28 and held Franklin Monroe last night to 33. I can’t say enough about our effort and our toughness. These games are won by toughness,” Sagester said.

Tri-Village lead 22-13 at halftime. They went on a 9-2 run to start the second quarter as they started to spread out the floor on offense and drive to the rim.

Troy Christian senior Frank Rupnik, listed at 6’7, was taken out of the paint and forced to guard around the perimeter. Finkbine and senior Reed Wehr took advantage of the matchup in space and got to the rim. Sagester said Finkbine is a Swiss army knife for them as he can do a lot of different things on the court.

The Eagles responded in the third quarter with a 12-2 run to grab a 25-24 lead. Tri-Village weathered the storm and ended the third quarter leading 30-26 as Finkbine scored a last second put back.

Sagester said the young players stepped up in big moments. Outside of Finkbine’s game, Trey Sagester scored a few crucial buckets and freshman Dom Black scored some big points as well.

The defense turned in another great performance. Keating held senior Parker Penrod to six points. Penrod averages 18.4 points a game. Sagester said Keating took on the challenge of guarding Penrod with enthusiaism and put on a defensive clinic.

Finkbine led with 13 points while Trey Sagester had eight points.

Both wins from the weekend should help Tri-Village stay in a favorable spot in the RPI. Currently in their section in Division III, they are the one seed.

“We beat a team with 10 wins last night, beat a good team tonight. That’s good RPI points for us. It’s coming down here pretty soon. We got to take care of business,” Sagester said.

Tri-Village will host Bradford on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and then host National Trail on Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Ansonia (4-12, 2-6): The Tigers dropped back to back home games. They lost 79-54 to Preble Shawnee on Jan. 26. Ansonia fell behind early, 21-9, after the first quarter. Senior Ethan Reichert led with 19 points and was 4 for 6 from three. Senior Trevor Hemmerich scored 11 points. The team shot 50% from three-point range. They then lost to Covington 68-66 on Jan. 27. The game was tied 52-52 after the third quarter. Hemmerich dropped 21 points and led the team in scoring. Reichert scored another 19 points, senior Landyn Bowman had 11 and senior Matt Barga had 10. Ansonia will be at National Trail on Feb. 2 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off. They will then host Russia on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Arcanum (9-8, 4-3): The Trojans won both of their weekend games. On Jan. 26, they won 64-48 at home over Twin Valley South. Junior Landon Flatter led the team with 15 points. Sophomore Regan Christ had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Senior Nathan Koller had 13 points and sophomore Matthew McCans had 10 points. They then won 46-41 over Milton-Union at home. The Trojans led 26-12 at halftime. Christ and senior Braylen Etherington each had 14 points. The team shot 40.9% from three-point range. After their make up game at Bradford, Arcanum will host Franklin Monroe on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Bradford (9-6, 5-2): The Railroaders split their home games. They started the weekend with a 71-39 win over Mississinawa Valley on Jan. 26. Senior Hudson Hill led the team with 20 points. Junior Owen Canan had 14 points, senior Landon Wills had 13 and junior Dalton Branson had 11. Bradford then fell to Franklin Monroe, 64-58, on Jan. 27 at home. The Railroaders led 31-19 at halftime. The Jets outscored the Railroaders, 27-15, in the third quarter. Eric Brenner led the team with 21 points. Fall and Lucas Brenner each had 17 points. Franklin Monroe shot 52.9% from three. Bradford was led by Branson with 20 points. Hill had 14 points. After their make up game against Arcanum, Bradford will head to Tri-Village on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. They will then host Northeastern on Feb. 3 at 7:15 p.m. Franklin Monroe head to Arcanum on Feb. 2 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off and then head to Newton on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Greenville (3-15, 3-11): The Green Wave lost 47-32 at Stebbins on Jan. 26. They were outscored 20-5 in the third quarter, but outscored Stebbins 12-3 in the fourth quarter. Junior Drew Hamilton led with 10 points. Junior Liam Jasenski had nine points. After a home game against West Carrollton, Greenville will head to Fairborn on Feb. 2 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off.

Mississinawa Valley (1-15, 0-7): The Blackhawks drop both games over the weekend. They lost 71-39 at Bradford. They then lost at home on Jan. 27 to Fort Recovery, 74-41. The Blackhawks kept it close for the first quarter, but couldn’t contain Fort Recovery after that. After a game at Muncie, they will host Tri-County North on Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Versailles (7-8, 2-3): The Tigers dropped both games over the weekend. They lost 49-47 at St. John’s on Jan. 26. Versailles led 42-39 after the third quarter and lost on a last second shot. Junior Jace Watren led with 14 points. Sophomore Drake Ahrens had 12 points and senior A.J. Griesdorn had 11 points. Versailles then lost 61-32 at the number ranked team in Division IV in the AP poll in Russia. Watren led with nine points and Griesdorn had six points. Versailles will host Coldwater on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. and then host Ponitz on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m.

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