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Bradford junior Parker Davidson scored his 1000 point in his 50th game in
win over Mississinawa 89-80.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Game Photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.165015575880359&type=3

BRADFORD – It was a busy Friday night at Bradford as they inducted 2 new members into their 27^th annual Athletic Hall of Fame.  That was followed by Parker Davidson scoring his 1000^th career point on the way to an 89-80 win over Mississinawa Valley in boys basketball action.

“It was a special night and a different atmosphere with some extra things going on with the Hall of Fame induction and the anticipation of Parker possibly scoring 1000 points,” Bradford Jay Hall said.

Two new members were inducted into the HOF prior to the game Jeff Barbee and Honorary member Cindy Hale. 

Bradford ran out to a 25-17 lead in the first quarter and 45-34 at the half.  The game was more like a track meet than a basketball game with both teams pushing the ball up the floor. 

Parker Davidson who has been averaging 28 ppg came in needing 22 points to reach a 1000 and nearly got that in the first half scoring 14 in the first quarter and 19 by the half.

Davidson got some help from freshman point guard Owen Canan who scored 9 points in the 2^nd quarter, and they would need those points to keep in front.

Freshman Owen Canan scored 15 points for the Railroaders.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Mississinawa Matt Pisano had 14 points and Drew Anguiano 12 in the first half to stay within striking distance of the Railroaders.

Parker Davidson was content to share the ball in the 3^rd period, getting his teammates involved knowing he was just mere points away from reaching the magic mark.  Midway in the quarter he made a steal and took it in for a layup to become the 7^th boy’s player in Bradford history to reach the mark.

It’s been over 20 years since a player from Bradford scored 1,000 points.  The last two coming in the 90’s with Kyle Sheer doing it in 1999 and Shane Mead in 1994. 

Once play resumed from the customary game ball presentation the Roaders expanded their lead to 20, 65-45 … but Mississinawa went on a 10-2 run to close the third quarter trailing 67-55. 

Davidson had 8 points and Landon Monnin 7 for Bradford while Anguiano and Pisano each had 5 for the Hawks.


Junior guard Landon Monnin had 11 points in win over MV.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Bradford once again built a 20-point lead 83-65 midway through the 4^th quarter with coach Jay Hall substituting out the starting 5 thinking the game was well in-hand.

But no one told the Blackhawks the game was over, and they would go on a 15-2 run on 3 triples by Troy Woodbury, Dylan Wehrkamp and Pisano.  Pisano scored 11 in the final period and 30 for the game.


MV Matt Pisano had a career night with 30 points as the Hawks fought back
from two 20 point deficits to get within 5 late in the game.  (Dale Barger Photo)

With the gap now 85-80 with under two minutes to play coach Hall had to put his starters back in to hold off the furious run by Mississinawa.

“We didn’t value the basketball and played undisciplined late in the game.  Our kids worked hard to get a nice lead so that our reserves can get playing time and its disappointing they didn’t take care of the ball, so I had to put the starters back in.” coach Hall would say after the game.

But the railroaders Parker Davidson stopped the bleeding scoring on a fielder and 2 free throws to secure the 89-80 victory for Bradford.

Davidson shared game high scoring honors with Pisano with 30 points. Bradford had 5 players in double figures.  Owen Canan and Landon Wills each had 15, Landon Monnin 13 and Hudson Hill 11. 

Bradford improved to 8-4 and 5-2 in the WOAC.

Mississinawa Valley was led by Pisano with 30, Drew Anguiano had 17 and Jake Dirmeyer 10.  They fell to 3-10 and 1-5 in the conference.

It was still a special night for Parker Davidson as I caught up with him after the game.

A very quiet and soft-spoken young man was more excited about getting the win when I asked him how it felt to score 1000 points.

“I mean, it's cool, but I'd rather just focus on winning, individual play doesn’t win games, we do that together as a team,” Davidson would say.

“My teammates play just as hard as me, especially this year, we all have the goal of a winning season and to get better,” Davidson added.

Bradford hasn’t had a winning season in well over 20 years and Davidson would like to change that.

“None of us playing have ever seen it happen before (Winning Season) so we really would like to change that here and we have a good chance to do that,” he said.

Knowing that a lot of kids saw him score 1000 points and are watching a winning team and I asked him what advice he would give to those kids looking on.

“I would tell them go out and play and work hard, it can be done,” Davidson concluded.

Coach Jay Hall would be the first to tell you that Davidson has followed his own advice and has put in the work and time and is happy for him.

“Well, I'm very proud of him. You know, he got this in exactly 50 games despite COVID last season missing games and fighting injuries missing games and for him to get it in 50 games that's impressive to me.”

“He is a team player and not a spotlight guy. He would rather just come in the gym and work on his game, right now he's probably thinking about those free throws He missed because he prides himself on trying to be a 90% shooter from the line.”

A perfect example of him not being a spotlight guy came in the 3^rd quarter where he was more concerned about sharing the ball and getting his teammates shots passing up his own that could have taken the record down sooner. 

“He loves playing ball and he just wants to win, it's honestly not about the stat line. If he needs to score he will, if can block a shot he will, if he needs to get a rebound he does.  I think he had 9 rebounds and quite a few assists, he has a good understanding of the game and he saw openings tonight and it wasn't always about him shooting the ball but getting his teammates involved and you know what more can you ask?  The spotlights on him and he wants to give it to them,” Hall concluded.

Senior guard Jake Dirmeyer dropped this floater for 2 of his 10 points for the
Hawks who fell 89-80 to Bradford.  (Dale Barger Photo)

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At the midway point in the 2021-22 season the Tri-Village Lady Patriots lead the WOAC at 8-0 with Arcanum in 2nd place at 6-1.  The Patriots are ranked 4th in the state in DIV and Arcanum 4th in DIII.

Bradford Austy Miller leads WOAC in scoring at 22.9 points per game. Dixie Sierra Brinson and Arcanum Hailey Unger both at 17.4 ppg, Tri-VIllage Rylee Sagester 4th, 16.8 ppg and National Trail Skylar Ward rounds out top 5 at 16.4 points per game.

Mississinawa Valley freshman Taylee Woodbury leads WOAC in Assists with 5.1 per game. Arcanum Madelyn Fearon is 2nd - 4.9, Dixie Charleigh Crawford is 3rd - 4.8, Arcanum Hailey Unger is 4th - 4.2 and Preble Shawnee Cambell Jewell is 5th - 4.1.

Preble Shawnee Harlee Howard leads the WOAC in Field Goal Shooting at 55.2%. Tri-Village Morgan Hunt is 2nd - 53.3%, National Trail J'da Jackson is 3rd - 51.5%, Tri-Village Meghan Downing is 4th - 51.4% and Ansonia Bailey Scmit is 5th at 51% field goal shooting.

Tri-County North Rilee Terry leads WOAC at 12.7 Rebounds Per Game. Tri-Village Meghan Downing 2nd - 10.2, Tri-County North Hannah Webster 3rd - 9.9, Dixie Sierra Brinson 4th - 9.6 and Franklin Monroe Skylar Bauman is 5th with 9 Rebounds per game.

Tri-Village Meghan Downing leads WOAC at 5 Blocks per game. Tri-County North Rilee Terry is 2nd with 2.3, Arcanum Taylor Gray is 3rd with 2.2, Preble Shawnee Kahlen Klum is 4th with 2.2, and Tri-Village Morgan Hunt is 5th at 1.8 blocks per game.

Preble Shawnee Campbell Jewell leads WOAC in Steals with 4.8 Per Game. Mississinawa Valley Taylee Woodbury is 2nd - 4.4, Bradford Rylee Canan 3rd - 4.2, Tri-County North Mackenzie Bacher 4th - 4.2 and Bradford Austy Miller is 5th - 4.1.

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Chandler Peters came out firing and ended with 25 points to lead Newton
to a 64-50 win over Franklin Monroe.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Game Photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=WOACSPORTS&set=a.164553642593219

PLEASANT HILL – The Newton boys basketball started the game like they were fired out of a canon to the tune of 25 - 1^st quarter points, 40 by halftime on 8 made triples to lead Franklin Monroe 40-28.  All that firepower went silent in the 3^rd quarter as the Jets closed to 50-45 but the Indians found the missing elements closing the game strong 64-50 for their 7^th straight win.

Newton had to go without Head Coach Gavin Spitler due to illness … but was able to utilize the services of former coach Neil Hans who stepped up to lead the Indians.

I’m not sure what he did to motivate the team, they were blazing hot as Chandler Peters grabbed the tip took 3 dribbles and knocked down a jump shot as the Indians tallied 25 points in the 1st quarter, including 5 triples.  Chandler had 9 and Hudson Montgomery 8.   

Hudson Montgomery was good for 14 points in win over FM.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Franklin Monroe fortunately got a big opening quarter from Ethan Garber with 9 points, but the Jets got lost in the vapor trail of Newton trailing 25-16.

Ethan Garber had 18 points to keep the Jets in contention.  (Dale Barger Photo)

The 2^nd quarter was more even with Newton scoring 15 to 12 for Franklin Monroe as the home team led 40-28 at the break. 

Chandler Peters again was on fire with 10 points in the 2^nd quarter and 19 at the half.

But just as hot as Newton was in the first half they cooled a bit in the 3^rd and the Jets took advantage scoring 17 points, while holding the Indians to just 10 and trailed 50-45 heading into the final stanza.

Karsyn Wright heated up for FM in the 3rd quarter to help give them close the
gap on the Indians.  (Dale Barger Photo)

“I'm the kind of guy that takes on too much responsibility. It was a little nerve racking for an old guy, and I guess I'm a little rusty,” coach Hans said about the third quarter.

“I told them I was disappointed with their defense. We didn't play very good defense and our shot selection wasn’t very good either.   We didn't do what we talked about before the game and we needed to get locked back in.  We switched it up a little bit defensively to a 1-3-1 and then back to the man early in the 4^th quarter,” Hans added.

That message resonated as the Indians only gave up 5 points in the 4^th quarter but even more important was the play of Harold Oburn at a critical time in the game.

Oburn who was averaging 14 points was limited to a triple early in the game would score on 3 consecutive possessions by banging away inside.

Ky Cool goes hard to the basket and gives as good as he got in the game with 
Harold Oburn defending the basket.  (Dale Barger Photo)

“Harold doesn't understand he is a load to guard and if I'm the other coach and he's shooting threes I’m like yeah, go ahead, do that.  We needed a boost, and he went inside and made big plays,” Hans praised.

Those plays eventually forced Franklin Monroe to start fouling and the Indians went 6-for-6 down the stretch to win the game 64-50 for a key Western Ohio Athletic Conference win.

It was a crazy game of runs but the opening by Newton proved too much for FM to overcome.

A coach who said he was rusty looked right at home and was smiling ear to ear after the game.

“Boy was that fun, what can I say they shot really well and most of the time they executed well, too,” coach Hans said after the game.

“Our shot selection was not good towards the end as they just want to go like crazy, we must learn to understand the concept of time and score, but I really like the way we are working together as a team,” Hans concluded.

Newton Chandler Peters had a game high 25 points - 4 assist, Hudson Montgomery 13 points - 4 assist, Harold Oburn 9 points - 10 rebounds and Quinten Smith had 9 points.

The Indians improves 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the WOAC and will look to win their 8^th game in a row when they travel to Tri-County North on Friday.

The Jets were led in scoring by Ethan Garber with 18 points, Karsyn Wright 12 and Ky Cool 7 points – 10 assists.  FM falls to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in conference and will host Tri-Village on Friday.


It was a highly entertaining and competitive game what you expect when Darke County neighbor Franklin Monroe goes into Miami County to play Newton.  The Indians won their 7th straight game to improve to 8-4 on the year.  (Dale Barger Photo)

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Layne Sarver became the boys All-Time Leading Scorer.  (Dale Barger Photo)

NEW LEBANON – Tri-Village boys basketball team handed Dixie a 78-38 loss in a WOAC match-up that also saw Patriots Layne Sarver break the school scoring record on his first field goal of the game.

Sarver coming into the game had 1453 points and needed a point to tie the record held by 2010 graduate Drew Moore with 1454.  Midway of the 1^st quarter Sarver pulled up from the elbow knocking down a 15’ jump shot for points 1454 and 1455 surpassing Moore. 

Tri-Village Boys Basketball Coach Josh Sagester presents game ball to
Layne Sarver.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Layne's sister and 2012 graduate Kayla Fisherback was recently inducted into the TV Athletic Hall of Fame.  She is the girls and schools all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 2,235 points and 1,183 career rebounds.

Layne scored 17 points in the first half and had limited second half minutes but ended with a game high 21 points.

The starting line-up of Dalton Delong, Wilson Suggs, Justin Finkbine, Josh Scantland and Layne Sarver all scored in the first quarter as they went up on the Greyhounds 17-9. 

Dalton Delong connected on 4 triples in win over Dixie.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Dixie’s leading scorer senior Jordan Butt average nearly 16 pts per game and reached a thousand points December 17^th in a game against Franklin Monroe.  Butt would try to keep his team close scoring 5 of the Greyhounds 9 first quarter points.


Jordan Butt scored 1,000th point in game vs Franklin Monroe on December 17th. 

But the Patriots locked in on Butt with Dalton Delong and Tanner Printz taking turns on the assignment slowed him down the rest of the game.  Butt ended the game 6 below his average.

Tri-Village got hot in the second quarter knocking down 5 triples with point guard Dalton Delong in one stretch connecting on three consecutive treys.

Dixie sophomore guard Kole Huffman scored all 6 of his points in the game in the frame but the Patriots widened their lead 40-19 at the half.

TV again had balanced scoring in the 3^rd quarter and extended their lead to 61-28 which resulted in a running clock in the 4^th quarter resulting in diminished numbers for the Patriots who went on to win the game 78-38.

Dixie got 10 points each from Jordan Butt and Logan Grub, Grub scored 8 of his 10 in the 2^nd half.  The Greyhounds drop to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in the WOAC Conference and will host Tri-County North on Tuesday.

Logan Grubb scored 8 of his 10 points in second half.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Sarver led the Patriots with 21, Delong 14 and Wilson Suggs had 11.  Tri-Village improves to 8-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference.  They will host National Trail on Tuesday.


Dixie Cheerleaders took time to snap a pic at a timeout.  (Dale Barger Photo)

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Jr. Forward Morgan Hunt powers through a double-team to score her 1,000th point,
(Dale Barger Photo)

NEW MADISON – It was a big night for the Lady Patriots basketball team and even a bigger night for one player.  Tri-Village would defeat Sidney 59-31 and Morgan Hunt would collect her 1,000^th career point along the way.

In their quest to prepare for a long post season run TV hosted Division 1 Sidney who came in with a 9-2 record looking for a stiff test that really didn’t materialize.

Tri-Village behind the hot-hand of Rylee Sagester from the outside scored 8 points, Morgan Hunt and Tori Richards each had 6 points in the opening quarter to jump out in front of Sidney 22-8.

Sagester added 7 more points, 15 total in the first half to give the PATS a 20-point lead 35-15.

Rylee Sagester had 5 triples, 21 points in win over Sidney. (Dale Barger Photo)

As good as the offense was playing, the defense was even more impressive.

Tori Richards assigned to guard Sidney’s leading scorer Allie Stockton who came in averaging 16 points a game was frustrated by the on-ball defense of Richards in the first half.

“I thought the job Tori did on Stockton was outstanding, she only had 2 points going into the 4^th quarter,” Gray praised.

Likewise, Meghan Downing patrolled the paint by swatting anything that got inside the lane to the tune of 9 blocks and while grabbing 13 rebounds, 9 on the defensive end.

Meghan Downing was a defensive shield inside the paint with 9 blocks.
(Dale Barger Photo)

The scoring pace slowed in the 3^rd quarter as Jr. Forward Morgan Hunt was closing in on an historic mark.  Coming into the game she needed 11 points to reach 1000 and had 8 in the first half.

Morgan added a free throw early in the 3^rd quarter, then midway in the period she caught the ball in the middle of the paint, pivoted to her right and was met by a double team with hands all over her was able to fight through dropping a short left-hand baby hook for her 10^th and 11^th point to reach the magic number.

After a short team celebration and ball presentation from coach Brad Gray, Hunt trotted over to her mom Kimberly giving her the ball and a hug.  She was then swallowed up by a big bear hug from her dad Ryan cementing the moment. 

Morgan Hunt hugs her mom Kimberly. (Dale Barger Photo)

Hunt joined fellow junior guard Rylee Sagester just games apart in reaching 1,000 points.  It’s not often you have a 1000-point scorer in your junior year, let alone 2 on the same team.

The Patriots only scored 8 points in the 3^rd quarter but still led 43-18 by playing stingy defense.

Now with the pressure off the Patriots played a bit looser in the final stanza extending their lead to 30 points but then relinquished some court time to the JV’s later in the frame.

The Yellow Jackets cut into the lead as the game wound down for a final score 59-31 for an impressive Tri-Village win to improve to 9-2.

Sagester led all scorers in the game with 21 points that included 5 triples prompting coach Brad Gray’s response.

“She was feeling it, when she pulls up just inside the volleyball line in transition you know she's feeling pretty good.  She was able to hit a couple early to get herself going and we really like it when she sees it go through the net early because when she does, it usually becomes a headache for the other team as the night goes on,” Gray complimented.

Morgan Hunt had 15 points and 10 rebounds including 1000 points, something coach Brad Gray was pleased to see her achieve.

“I’m so glad that she was able to accomplish it and get this behind her.  Sometimes when kids know they're getting close they tend to push a little bit and now that it’s behind both her and Rylee, they can now just concentrate on playing basketball and doing the things they need to do to help this team be successful.”

“But Morgan is much more than a scorer, she’s a warrior man, and what she provides with her floor game is so valuable.  She's a kid we can put the ball in her hands to help bring it up the floor, she's a great passer, defensively she does an excellent job and is a great rebounder.  She is just a complete player who gets labeled as a scorer, but she is so much more than that,” Gray commended.

Junior Tori Richards also scored 14 points giving the Patriots another threat offensively to go along with her defense.

Tori Richards "D" was stellar & 14 points a big boost as well.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Meghan Downing had 4 points, Delanee Gray 3 and Molly Scantland 2.

“I thought our kids, to their credit came out from the start of the game locked in on what we were doing offensively and on defense they played tremendous too,” Gray concluded.

But the highlight of the night still belonged to Morgan Hunt who was very humble when we spoke about her accomplishment.

“Yeah, it's amazing for how much I can get accomplished with my teammates, I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without them. They always push me to be my best and our chemistry is good. We always find people in the right spot, and we always make that extra pass. 

I couldn't have done this without them or my family or our community, they always are supporting us, even if we're doing bad, they're still there for us,” Hunt stated.

Hunt has a basketball pedigree with her dad Ryan Hunt averaging 20 points a game his senior year at Tri-Village playing on a team that won over 20 games and went to District finals.  Her mom Kimberly Hunt played basketball at Greenville, so Morgan has plenty of support at home.

“I heard my dad was pretty good … but he's always said I'm a little bit better and he always pushes me to do my best and work hard, even if I’m struggling not to give up but just keep plugging away and eventually thing will go our way,” Hunt said.

Anyone who watches Morgan play can attest that she has followed her dad’s advice well as her motor never stops and rarely does she get outworked in a game.

“What impresses me the most about Morgan is that she isn’t consumed by scoring points, rebounds, assist … she plays to win and does whatever the moment calls for to put her team in a winning position, that’s why her motor never quits, that’s what inspires her game,” Ryan Hunt mused.

Morgan Hunts dad Ryan swallows her up with a big bear hug.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Morgan also touched on her mom as well

“My mom played the game with a lot of passion and is such a big supporter ,” Hunt added.

When asked how she felt when she got to deliver the ball to her mom and hug her parents she smiled and spoke,  it just made me feel proud and happy to see their faces and made me so happy and I know they were happy for me as well.

Hunt currently holds an offer from Northern Kentucky University to play at the next level, but she isn’t ready to bolt off to college just yet, nor is her teammate Rylee Sagester who has verballed to Marshall University.

We still have things we want to accomplish since we started playing together in the fourth grade all we wanted to do was play as much as we could and to win. We’ve grown so close not only on the floor but off and that’s amazing.   We would like to add some additional accomplishments one where our entire team celebrates together,” Hunt concluded.

One that ends at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

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