Vandalia, Ohio — In his first year back coaching the boy’s team at Tri-Village, head coach Josh Sagester has led the Patriots to a undefeated regular season which won him the CCC coach of the year award. In the final season of the CCC, the Patriots were dominant. Layne Sarver was by far the best player in the CCC and being surrounded by other key pieces like Dalton DeLong, Josh Scantland, and Wilson Suggs has led this team to a perfect 26-0 record entering Tuesday’s matchup versus Cedarville.

Cedarville knew losing Colby Cross last season would hurt, but the returning duo of Trent Koning and Isaiah Ramey hadn’t even began to see their potential until this season came around. Koning averaged 18 points a game and won the OHC player of the year. With their lone loss to Northeastern, the Indians finished the regular season 23-1.

After a comeback from behind win over Jackson Center to win a District title, Cedarville looked to win another game against an undefeated Tri-Village team. The matchup of Sarver and Koning would be the headline coming into this game with a Regional Title appearance on the line.

Both teams battled back and forth for most of the first quarter. An and-one from Dalton DeLong gave Tri-Village an 8-7 lead but Cedarville’s Trent Koning nailed a deep three to put the Indians back on top. Koning then got a steal off the inbound pass from Wilson Suggs and took it coast to coast for a massive dunk. This gave the Indians a 16-13 lead after one quarter.

Josh Scantland tied the game late in the second quarter was a and-one off of a fast break. Layne Sarver continued to score the ball as he converted on an unconventional and-one as well to give the Patriots the lead. Sarver then knocked own a pair of shots to end the half and give Tri-Village a 31-28 lead at halftime. Layne Sarver led the Pats at the break with 15 points.

Tri-Village came out of halftime cooking as the trio of Sarver, Suggs and DeLong boosted their lead to double digits which forced a Cedarville timeout. It looked like the end might be near for the Indians, but they weren’t out for the county just yet. Through some scrappy play by both Trent Koning and Isaiah Ramey, Cedarville was able to climb back into this game and tie it at 43-43 at the end of the third quarter.

Cedarville then went on to open up the fourth quarter on an impressive 10-2 run. Cedarville was able to contain Sarver on offense very well which forced him into tough shots. A steal and score from Isaiah Ramey increased the advantage to 55-47. Josh Scantland fouled out with under three minutes to go and the lid on the basket stayed as Tri-Village’s offense fell cold in the fourth quarter.

Behind 22 points from Trent Koning and 21 points from Isaiah Ramey, the Cedarville Indians were able to hand Tri-Village their first loss of the season as they won 67-56 and will advance to the Regional Final game against Botkins. That game will be played at Butler High School on Friday at 7:00 pm.