The Patriot student body was out in full force showing their support.
January 9, 2009
New Madison, Ohio
It was a match-up of the only two undefeated teams left in conference play with the winner gaining a huge advantage in garnering a league championship.
Cold shooting by Tri-Village gave Miami East the upper hand early in the contest as they raced out to a 14-5 lead until a Drew Moore basket cut it to 14-7 to end the opening quarter.
East benefited on some hot shooting including 5 points from senior Kyle Karadak who finished with 8 points on the night. Matt Miller was able to score 4 points inside… but it would be his only points of the game.
In the second period Tri-Village would outscore the Vikings 15-14 as Drew Moore scored 8 and Tyler Greer 7 points to keep the Patriots within striking distance, trailing 27-22 at the half.
Tri-Village battled back in the 3rd frame and worked their way to a 31-31 tie when Tyler Greer drove the lane for two with 4:12 to play. East had 5 different players score in the frame and every time TV would make a run the Vikings would make a play that would give them back the momentum to lead 38-34. In particular the Vikings benefited from the play of 6’5” reserve player Evan Wolf who scored 4 points in the frame and dished out 3 assists from the post position for easy baskets.
In the final stanza the PATS struggled to find a way to penetrate the extended 1-2-2 zone of the Vikings. Their “D” led to early turnovers and East capitalized on some easy baskets including a lay-up by Dan Hickman at 3:41 giving East their largest lead of the game 46-36.
Tri-Village refused to fold as Cody Gunckel scored two straight baskets followed by a Drew Moore bomb and TV trailed 46-43 with 2:31 to play. East pushed the lead to 49-43 on a Hickman toss at the line with 1:57 to play.
TV made one more charge as Drew Moore was fouled on a three-pointer that drew nothing but net. Moore missed his only charity toss on the night that would have made it a two-point game and with just 1:21 to play East held a 49-46 lead.
Tri-Village up against the clock was forced to foul and as all good teams do, East was able to make enough free throws to finish up the contest with a 59-54 hard fought win.
Miami East was led in scoring by Dan Hickman with 15 points, numerous assists and steals. Sophomore Justin Hershberger chipped in 12 points and junior Aaron Mitchell helped seal the win going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Tri-Village got a big night from Drew Moore who rained in 5 three-pointers on his way to 29 points. Tyler Greer dished out 8 assists and scored 13 points in support. The loss drops Tri-Village to 7-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
In the JV contest the Patriots played to a tie at halftime but was unable to keep pace in the second half falling to the Vikings. Evan Barger finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds in the cause as their record falls to 7-4 and 4-2 in conference play. Miami East JV remains undefeated at 7-0 and 4-0.
Tri-Village will be back in action traveling to Covington next Friday and hosting St. Henry next Saturday for Hall-of-Fame Night.
