New Madison – 1/15/05
Over the last few weeks the Tri-Village Patriots have struggled in part to a tough schedule but overall finding a way to win down the stretch when it matters has been elusive. Tonight they were able to find a way to win in the stretch against Mississinawa Valley and… maybe it was the mystique and lore of those inducted on this night that rubbed off, as the Patriots pulled away in the end in what was a tightly contested game for three quarters for a 49-38 victory.
Josh Fisherback got the home team on the board first with a trey out of the corner and Cameron Quinn followed that up with lay-up and TV was up 5-0 at 7:05. MV got on the board when Jason Claywell drained a three ball his only points on the night at 6:15.
The Patriots answered that when Daniel Foreman drove to the hole for two and on the next trip down Corey Jay netted a turnaround jumper and TV had a 9-3 lead at the 4:26 mark. But the Blackhawks turned up the defensive pressure and would make a run of their own when Kyle Linder sank a trey and MV trailed 11-8 after one period.
Linder would open the second period with a bucket but… Fisherback sank his second three on the night followed by a Sam Lindamood steal and fast break two handed lay-in and TV led 16-10. The Blackhawks battled back when Linder sank another trey and then Brady Rogers scored two consecutive baskets on the inside and Mississinawa had their first lead of the night 17-16. Tri-Village took a timeout to regroup at 4:38. Neither team could score over the next 3 minutes until Corey Jay was fouled dropping in two throws at 1:32. Rogers again scored two and MV regained the lead 19-18. But the spark that opened the 1st and 2nd quarter would flicker one more time as Fisherback swished his third and final trey on the night to give TV a 21-19 halftime lead.
“We played hard in the first half, said Coach Sagester, but I think we got too relaxed when we got up 9-3 early on and let them back in the game. Fisherback really gave us a boost in the first half to keep us on top”.
A quite Jay for the most part in the first half would come to life in the 3rd quarter as Jay would get the Patriots started with a bucket and one. He followed that up with another inside score and TV led 26-19. Linder, a thorn in the side for TV in the first half dropped another bomb at 5:17 and closed the lead to 26-22. Jay sank a free throw and Rogers answered with a score inside. Lindamood got one of his own inside but Linder countered with another deuce and at 2:29 the PATS held a 29-26 lead. Tri-Village would close strong as Lindamood sank two free throws and Jay would end the quarter as he started with a basket and a foul giving Tri-Village their biggest lead of the night 34-26.
The final stanza would find the Blackhawks playing catch-up and they would end up sending the Patriots to the foul line 19 times and the Patriots would connect on 11 which would be enough to seal the victory. Daniel Foreman would lead in scoring in the quarter with 6 points as the Patriots finished up for a 49-38 win.
“It wasn’t pretty, it’s a win and our defensive effort was good holding them to 39 points tonight, commented Sagester. Sam did a nice job in the second half slowing down Linder and Daniel had a good game with 8 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.”
Tri-Village record is now 4-8 on the year and 3-3 in the conference. Once again the Patriots embark on another tough game this time at Versailles tomorrow night.
SCORING
Tri-Village
Pipenger – 0
Foreman - 8
Fisherback – 12
Quinn – 5
Lindamood – 8
Snyder – 0
Jay - 16
Totals – 49
Mississinawa Valley
Lyons – 5
Gelhaus – 3
Linder – 15
Claywell – 3
Rogers – 8
Setser – 4
Totals – 38
Score by Quarters
TV…….11……21………34………49
MV…….8…….19………26………38
