NEW MADISON – You can always count on the Franklin Monroe-Tri-Village game being highly competitive no matter the records.
Santa Claus made a visit at the half and was in a giving mood … but so did the Grinch, in the form of Franklin Monroe stealing one away from the Patriots in their rivalry game, 59-52.
The Jets jumped out early on a trey and fielder from Ethan Conley and a layup from Kyle Ressler to go 7-0. It was enough to keep the Patriots playing from behind all night and eventually the winning margin for the Jets.
Tri-Village’s Christian Ricker hit a runner down the lane to get the PATS on the board at 6:43.
The Patriots battled and closed the gap to 17-14 behind the inside scoring from Jared Buckley and Darrell Lee both with 5 points each in the opening frame.
But back to back triples by Parker Hesler and Ressler catapulted the Jets to a 23-14 first quarter advantage.
“We got off to a good start and that set the tone for the game … we just didn’t play four full quarters,” Franklin Monroe boys basketball coach Troy Myers said.
The pace slowed a bit in the second quarter, but the Jets would prevail 12-9 to go up 34-23 at the half.
FM got 5 points from Conley, 3 from Bryce Filbrun and 2 each from Zach Cable and Cole McGlinch in the third quarter.
Tri-Village won the quarter 13-11 and got 4 points each from Buckley, 3 points form Gage Hileman and 2 from Ricker but trailed 46-38.
The excitement level would be high in the final stanza as the Patriots made a run, closing the gap to 48-46 off a stick-back by Buckley at 4:26.
Every time the PATS made a play the Jets had an answer in Conley making a big play when they needed it. Conley led all scorers on the night with 19 points.
Two Gage Hileman free throws got TV back to 50-48 and then moments later his triple kept the Patriots close, trailing 53-51 with 2:30 to go.
Conley’s old-fashioned 3-point play gave the Jets breathing room and they sealed it from the charity stripe for a 59-52 Cross County Conference win.
The Jets were 24-for-29 from the free throw line and 9-for-10 in the fourth quarter when it mattered the most. The Patriots were just 11-for-17 for the game and 5-for-8 in the fourth quarter.
“Our seniors and guys who have played here for a while stepped up making plays and fouls shots down the stretch,” Myers said. “We didn’t play a full four quarters, and I give a lot of credit to Tri-Village. I thought they played really well from what I’ve seen, and that’s a credit to Mackenzie Perry; he’s doing a good job here, and their ball screens gave us a little difficulty in the second and third quarters.”
“We have to get better defensively and execute by not getting beat and having help side defense step up. I think a lot of the fouls we are giving is due to not executing, reaching on defense and trying to swat everything and other teams are getting to the free throw line more than we are,” Tri-Village’s Perry said.
“Were still in that learning process, and I told the kids in the locker room that second half how we went back and forth and got the right shot we wanted that’s how we have to play for 32 minutes. We were a jump shot, a layup, a made 3 here or a few turnovers there from actually being able to grab the lead and turn the game our way. It comes down to execution, and we haven’t done that yet to the best of our ability, and we’re going to continue to work and get better,” Perry concluded.
“I honestly love the fact that we won a tight game on the road down the stretch. I love our schedule that we’ve played eight really good teams, three on Tuesday night, and that’s what you want to win games in a stretch like this. These are games playing them tight on the road in an environment like this that you got to have. I’m really proud of our guys for hanging in there and being the guys I know they can be pulling it out down the stretch,” Myers concluded.
Ressler had 14 points and Cable 10 to go along with Conley’s 19 for Franklin Monroe who improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Jets will have a few days off and then back at it hosting the Jet Holiday Tournament Friday and Saturday.
Tri-Village was led by Buckley with 17 points, Lee had 11 and Hileman 10 in the loss. The Patriots fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the CCC and will host their own Patriot Holiday Tournament as well, taking on Jefferson in the first round.
Box score:
Score by quarters
FM … 23 … 12 … 11 … 13 – 59
TV …. 14 … 09 … 13 … 16 – 52
Individual scoring
Franklin Monroe – Kyle Ressler 14, Bryce Filbrun 6, Crist 1, Zach Cable 10, Cole McGlinch 4, Parker Hesler 5, Ethan Conley 19 – Totals: 5-10-24/29 – 59
Tri-Village – Gage Hileman 10, Derek Eyer 8, Jared Buckley 17, Darrell Lee 11, Christian Ricker 7 Totals – 3-16-11/17 – 52
3-pointers
FM – 5 (Ressler 2, Filbrun 1, Hesler 1, Conley 1)
TV – 3 (Hileman 2, Eyer 1)
