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Tri-Village junior guard Trey Sagester who averaged 23 ppg was selected at the Boys DVI All-Southwest District Player of the Year. 

Story & Photos by Dale Barger

Several WOAC boys’ teams had players earn post season recognition on the All-Southwest Ohio boys’ basketball teams as selected by members of the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association.

Here is the list of WOAC players earning All-Southwest District Honors.

Division V

Second Team All-Southwest District

Landon Flatter, Arcanum

Brayden Robinette, Preble Shawnee

Third Team All-Southwest District

Brody Morton,  Preble Shawnee

Luke Miller, Dixie

Honorable Mention All-Southwest District

Cameron Ball, Arcanum

Division VI

First Team All-Southwest District

Trey Sagester, Tri-Village

Second Team All-Southwest District

Dom Black, Tri-Village

Third Team All-Southwest District

Noah Finkbine, Tri-Village

Kellen Laird, National Trail

Trent Ray, Twin Valley South

Honorable Mention All-Southwest District

Griffin Richards, Tri-Village

Tayden Blevins, National Trail

Griffin Roell, Twin Valley South
Aidan White, Twin Valley South

Division VII

First Team All-Southwest District

Eric Brenner, Franklin Monroe

Owen Canan, Bradford

Second Team All-Southwest District

EB Fall, Franklin Monroe

Third Team All-Southwest District

Ben Hamilton, Mississinawa Valley

Cing Scott, Mississinawa Valley

Max Newhouse, Newton

Honorable Mention All-Southwest District

Rallie Wirrig, Bradford

Travis Williamson, Tri-County North

Congratulations to all our WOAC Athletes receiving recognition.

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Alexis Gibbons was the DVI Co-Player of the Year and Abbey Moore was the DVI Co-Coach of the Year.  Mississinawa Valley’s Taylee Woodbury was the DVII Co-Player of the Year.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

Several WOAC girls’ teams had players, and a coach earn post season recognition on the All-Southwest Ohio girls’ basketball teams as selected by members of the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association.

Here is the list of WOAC players earning All-Southwest District Honors.

Division V

First Team All-Southwest District

Adalynn Hines, Tri-Village

Second Team All-Southwest District

Tai Mize, Tri-Village

Third Team All-Southwest District

Kenna Wilcox, Tri-Village

Division VI

First Team All-Southwest District

Bella Cherry, Tri-County North

Alexis Gibbons, Arcanum

Second Team All-Southwest District

Leinani Garcia, Tri-County North

Caroline Long, Arcanum

Third Team All-Southwest District

Morgan House, National Trail

Aubrey Unger, Preble Shawnee

Honorable Mention All-Southwest District

Josie Stiner, National Trail

Division VII

First Team All-Southwest District

Taylee Woodbury, Mississinawa Valley

Second Team All-Southwest District

Brylii Day, Twin Valley South

Brooklynn Seubert, Mississinawa Valley

Third Team All-Southwest District

Charlotte Barga, Ansonia

Paige Emerick, Mississinawa Valley

Felicity Harbour, Newton

Jordan Ritchie, Twin Valley South

Honorable Mention All-Southwest District

Rose Barga, Ansonia

London Reichert, Ansonia

Rylee Hess, Newton

Syenna Purdin, Mississinawa Valley

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Tri-Village Boys Basketball Team Wins 5th Straight District Title with 62-57 win over Country Day.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

TROY – The Tri-Village boys basketball team built up a 19-point lead against Cincinnati Country Day and then fought off a furious ‘no-holds-bar’ comeback effort by the Nighthawks to earn their 5^th straight District Championship in a 62-57 win.

“We were up 13 at the half, 19 in the third quarter and sometimes in those situations, kids let down a little bit, lose some focus a little bit, and then the other team, what they do is they play in desperation mode. And I felt like that's the mode where Country Day began to play their best basketball,” Tri-Village coach Josh Sagester commented.

The Patriots got on the board first on an ally-oop to Noah Finkbine but then saw the Nighthawks run off seven straight points to go up 7-2 then 9-4 and coach Sagester saw enough calling a timeout at the five-minute mark.

Noah Finkbine goes up high for this Griffin Richards ally-oop to get scoring started.

It seemed to wake up Tri-Village going on a 18-0 run while holding Country Day scoreless the remainder of the opening quarter for a 22-9 lead.

Trey Sagester caught fire on three triples and a fielder for 11 points, Dom Black had 4, Kasyn Hollinger a three, Hayden Hunt and Noah Finkbine two points each.

Hayden Hunt has been a steady contributor off the bench with solid defense and scored four points including this stickback. 

The two teams would play to a draw in the 2^nd quarter 16-16 with Tri-Village taking a 38-25 halftime lead.

Bryce Snell and Eli Guttman came alive for the Nighthawks.  Snell had 11 and Guttman 9 at the break and Patriots were led by Sagester with 17 and Black with 7 points.

In the third quarter Tri-Village center Dom Black picked up his 3^rd foul which would open up the middle on defense and take away a block threat and Country Day began to clamp down on Trey Sagester. 

Dom Black on his birthday scored 11 points ... but would pick up a 3rd foul in third quarter.

Sagester scored just two points both free throws at the two-minute mark of the quarter that gave the Patriots their largest lead in the game of 19 … but things were about to get crazy over the last part of the period and into the final frame.

The 47-28 lead evaporated to 47-38 by the end of the third quarter as Snell and Guttman both connected from distance and a technical foul on the PATS helped the cause.

It also sparked tempers to the degree of which Country Day was allowed to hold, then flop when there was no contact and draw fouls and led to chippy play the rest of the way.

“I felt like we played pretty good for almost three quarters, but  you know, Dom got in foul trouble –  they had no answer to that and we’re going continue to go there.  He picked up a defensive rebounding foul early in the third and then it got physical.  You know, my complaint is when you had guys that were grabbing, holding and standing in front it’s real tough for your offense when you struggle at times with freedom of movement,” Sagester explained.

With that ‘No-Holds-Barr’ mentality Country Day was going for broke in the fourth quarter as well, playing with nothing to lose and it didn’t hurt that Bryce Snell was red hot firing in a couple of three balls from long range as they closed the gap to 48-41, trailing by just seven with six minutes to play.

Trey Sagester had 17 first half points ... but Country Day hacked away at Sagester and limited him to just 10 in the 2nd half.  

Trey Sagester stopped the bleeding with a left-handed lay-up and a triple to push the lead back out to 53-43 at 4:50.

Kasyn Hollinger came up with a couple of big rebounds and stick back for a 56-44 lead … but the Knighthawks continue to battle hard.

Kasyn Hollinger came up with some key 2nd chance rebounds and defensive plays for the Patriots in game verses Country Day.

Patriot turnovers (18) in the game gave Country extra opportunities a Snell took advantage as he erupted for 24 points in the second half, 14 in the final frame and 35 for the game.

Snell’s drive to the basket cut the lead back down to 7, 58-51 with 1:44 to go. 

Three free throws from Noah Finkbine made it 61-52 with .58 seconds … Day quickly scored again.  Sagester added charity toss … but Snell still had something to say with a final triple –his 5^th matching Sagester with 5, bringing the game to its end with the Patriots surviving the furious rally 62-57 to win the District Championship.

“Even though we led by 19, I knew this game was far from over, give them (Country Day) credit for continuing to fight, continue to make plays, we didn't seal deal, in my opinion, like we have in the past,”  Sagester state after the game.

“Anytime you play in a game of this magnitude, there's going to be some adversity, and it's the way that we respond. We didn't necessarily respond very good early in the fourth and, quite frankly, late, with uncharacteristic turnovers and, of course, the technical that … but at the end of the day, we found a way to win and make enough plays to move on to Tuesday to play in the Regional Semi-Finals,” Sagester concluded.

The Patriots shot 43% for the game 19-of-44 and 64% from the line 18-of-28. 

The Nighthawks shot 33% 18-of-54 and 69% from the line 11-of-16.

Tri-Village outrebounded Country Day 37-22 … but had 18 turnovers to their 10.

Up next for the Patriots is the Anna Rockets with the game being played at Vandalia Butler High School on Tuesday March 4^th at 8pm.

Griffin Richards goes hard to the rim for a bucket in win over Country Day.

Box Score:

Score by Quarters:

TV …. 22 … 16 … 09 … 15 - 62

CD … 09 … 16 … 13 … 19 – 67

Team Scoring:

TV – Black 0-5-0/0 – 11, Sagester 5-2-8/13 – 27, Hunt 0-2-0/2 – 4, Richards 0-1-1/2 – 3
Gray 0-0-2/2 – 2, Bedinghaus 0-1-1/2 – 3, Hollinger 1-1-0/0 – 5, Totals 6-13-18/29 – 62

CD – Guido 1-0-0/0 – 3, Guttman 0-1-2/2 – 4, Robinson 1-0-0/0 – 3, Guttman 3-1-1/3 – 12,
Snell 5-6-8/11 – 35, Totals 10-8-11/16 – 57

Tri-Village moves on to Regional Semi-Finals to play Anna.
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The Preble Shawnee Boys Basketball Team wins their 3rd straight District title by defeating Cincinnati Seven Hills 55-33.

Story and Photos by Eddie Mowen

LIBERTY TWP. – Brody Morton admitted he didn’t have the best of nights shooting.

But his buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter was just the spark Preble Shawnee needed.

The 6-3 junior’s basket gave his team a 10-point lead (37-27) in what was a hotly contested game until that point.

And the Arrows carried that momentum into the fourth quarter.

Shawnee went on a 14-2 run over the first five minutes of the quarter to break open a close game en route to a 55-33 upset win over Cin. Seven Hills, the No. 1 seed from the South bracket, in a Division V district final on Friday, March 1, at Lakota East High School.

The win secured the Arrows, the No. 6 seed in the North bracket, a third straight district championship and fifth in program history.

Shawnee (16-9) will now play No. 3 Clark Montessori, a 62-57 overtime winner over Versailles, in the regional semifinal on Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Fairborn High School.

“Just so proud of this group,” Shawnee coach Ryan Robinson said. “The highs and lows we've been through as a group throughout the course of the season, non-conference games and conference games, and just pulling together and going on a run like this, it's special. It's bigger than basketball. It's bigger than us. It's for this community and all of our supporters. So, it's a cool experience.”

Morton led all scorers with 23 points that included scoring several baskets at the rim. He finished the game 9-of-19 from the field. He was 7-of-8 on shots inside the arc, while going just 2-for-11 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and two steals.

“I'm just trusting my teammates to get me the ball and I can go make shots,” Morton said. “But they weren't falling today, and I found other ways to score, and they found ways to get me the ball.”

Brayden Robinette handled the pressure and scored 15 points in win and can lay claim to having won 3 District Titles as an Arrow.

Senior Brayden Robinette finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists while being harassed by Seven Hills defenders all game.

Brody Foxbower, a 6-4 junior, added nine points and 10 rebounds and altered several Stinger shot attempts inside the paint.

Shawnee shot 56 percent from the field, making 19-of-34 shots, including 9-of-14 in the second half.

The Arrows zone defense limited the Stingers to just 24.4 percent shooting, forcing Seven Hills to go 5-of-26 from the field in the second half.

The Stingers knocked down five three-pointers over the first 8:15 of the game but went just 1-for-11 the remainder of the game.

“We're a long team, probably a bad coaching move that we didn't zone more during the year, but we found a little spark with it last game, and we knew it'd be something we could pull out this game, and we rolled with it because it was working and it was huge for us,” Robinson said. “These guys are bought in to whatever game plan we want to do. They just want to do anything it takes to win. And that's what's awesome about this group.”

Ryan Robinson was a part of two district championship teams as an assistant coach and now gets to cut down the net as head coach.  
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The Franklin Monroe Boys Basketball team wins OHSAA D7 Southwest District Championship with 38-32 win over Fort Loramie.

Story and Photos by Dale Barger

PIQUA – Franklin Monroe and Fort Loramie battled hard in a game that wasn’t decided till the waning moments as the Jets made the plays and free throws late to take down the Redskins 38-32 to win their first District Championship since 2011.

It was a game that saw 7 lead changes and 6 ties with Fort Loramie leading the first (9-8), second (16-12) and third quarter (27-24).  They gained the lead in the first and third quarter on buzzer beating three-point plays.

The Jets however prevented a final buzzer beater by making enough free throws late to lead the most important quarter as time expired 38-32.

Scoring was at a premium in the opening frame with the Redskins scoring first at the five-minute mark going up 4-0 before the Jets got on the board on a triple from senior guard Eric Brenner at 4:34.

Eric Brenner hits a big three in front of the Loramie student section.

Eric fired in a second three ball a minute later for a 6-4 lead … but  Loramie answered off a second chance rebound to tie the game at six.

Senior forward Trey Wilson’s left-handed hook made it 8-6 only to see the Redskins get multiple chances to score on their last possession of the opening quarter – the third time charm was a three-point buzzer beater giving Ft. Loramie a 9-8 lead.

Senior Trey Wilson gets this shot to go in 1st quarter.  His defense and rebounding would be a key late in the game.

They road that momentum and expanded their lead to 16-8 by the 2:32 mark of the second quarter.

The Jets Eric Brenner picked up his second foul late in the first quarter and the Fort held Franklin Monroe scoreless for much of the quarter and coach Troy Myers could ill afford to let him sit any longer.

He took the risk of putting him back in the game and it paid dividends immediately as he scored on a drive to the rim … but he also went down hard on a blocking foul in the process.

Brenner ended the scoring drought … but it came at a cost.

“The fall hurt my right hand when #30 tried to take a charge, then I tried to catch myself to prevent landing on my face and now my thumbs pretty messed up,” Eric would say regarding the play.

Already playing with an aggravated left hand that he missed games during the regular season, now he would have to deal with pain in his shooting hand as well.

In typical Shelby County League fashion defense was on display as the first half grind favored Fort Loramie for a 16-12 lead at the break

It also left questions for Franklin Monroe on where their offense would come from in the second half with Brenner now having both hands ailing.

That answer came just seconds into the third quarter with EB fall penetrating into the lane and rising up over his defender for a bucket.  He followed that up moments later with another fielder and the offense had a different feel than it did in the 1^st half.

EB Fall would be a difference maker in the 2nd half ... he ended the game with 20 points to lead the Jets to a big tournament win.

“I knew with Eric hurting I had to step up and coach wanted us to drive and kick. Their big guy could not guard me, so I had to go do the job and if I could get my feet in the paint good things would happen,” EB Fall stated.

After two straight paint scores Fall kicked the ball and Lucas Brenner connected on a corner triple to give the Jets a 19-18 lead at the five-minute mark.

With the Fort Loramie crowd as the backdrop ... junior guard Lucas Brenner drains a big three in 3rd quarter.

“They put some covers on things that we were trying to do, and I thought EB’s first possession, when he went right to the rack, set the tone, and he did exactly what we asked him to do, he was a difference maker in the second half,” coach Myers said.

Fall continued to score in the third quarter, nine points in total to infuse much needed offense  … but with the score tied at 24, the Redskins, Barhorst sent a dagger from deep at the horn for a 27-24 advantage heading into the final stanza.

Despite doubling up their first half offense in the 3^rd quarter the Jets still trailed and needed to lock down on defense and minimize the 2^nd and 3^rd chances Loramie got off the boards.

Senior forward Trey Wilson would play a big role in helping minimize those 2^nd efforts and defended the basket hard in the final period drawing praise from coach Myers.

“Trey was tremendous. He was just physical, everybody knows what he is, and tonight, the way the game went, he needed be on the floor … but that is the beauty of our team, guys being selfless, and when it's their time to go to work, they go to work,” Myers expressed.

Franklin Monroe’s Lucas Brenner and Fall started the final quarter making two free throws each, then Fall scored at the rim thrusting the Jets in front again 30-27.

The Skins Max Mauer tied it back up quickly at 30 on triple at 6:20.


The emotions ebbed and flowed throughout the game culminated in joy for Franklin Monroe winning District Title.

The ‘back n forth’ plays in the game had fans from both sides of the gym engaged and a roller coaster of emotions.

Fall and Gasson of Loramie kept each sides hopes alive trading buckets and still anyone’s game with three minutes to play, tied at 32.

EB Fall ended the stalemate for the last time on free throw after being fouled on a drive down the lane to go up 33-32.

Sophomore guard Blake Riffle would go 3-for-3 from the Free Throw line to help secure the game late for the Jets.

A defensive stop and rebound by Wilson led to an outlet pass to Blake Riffle.  Riffle who turned in a solid defensive performance picked up the 5^th Ft. Loramie foul in the quarter and it proved big.  He went to the line making two throws to go up 35-32 with 1:16 remaining in the game.

The perimeter defense by the Jets was good down the stretch as Loramie shot two airballs under duress on back-to-back possessions, each resulting in fouls to send FM to the free throw line.

EB Fall canned two charity tosses and Blake Riffle added one more to close out the game for the 38-32 win.

“Fort Loramie, they are battle tested. And it showed, anytime we took the lead, they took it right back and we were thankful  to get a lead there late in the game, so we could spread the floor and get to the line, and we made enough free throws to get the win,” coach Troy Myers said after the game.

Myers was happy for his team and to see their hard work rewarded with a District Championship, the first since 2011.

Troy Myers who became the winningest boys coach in school history notched number 181 and cuts down the District Championship net for first time as the coach as well.

“I’m just so happy and proud for our team. I mean, honestly, I just think it's fruit to a lot of labor that's been put in, you know.  The secret's not a secret … it's just whether or not you can be tough enough and endure enough to go through all the long hours and the hardships and keep your faith in hopes that you'll put yourself in a position where all that labor will pay off and I think that's what you saw tonight,” Myers said.

Myers talked about his senior leaders being big in the moment.

“We talked beforehand, like just have ‘Poise in the Noise’, and you expect your experienced guys to do that. And they (Eric Brenner and EB Fall) both stepped up in a major way,” Myers said.  “I give our other guys credit for stepping up to the line, making free throws as well,” Myers added.

For two senior leaders Eric Brenner and EB Fall it was a dream come true to experience winning a District Championship.

“It’s so surreal, we’ve been talking about this since seventh, eighth grade and now it’s so unbelievable, we did it,” Eric Brenner said.

“I feel like all the hard work going to ‘early bird’ morning workouts, we've been talking about it all summer, all this stuff led us here.   I feel like we showed up and performed very well and I'm proud of all the guys, our whole team, all of them did a great job,” EB Fall added.

The win meant a lot to Franklin Monroe boys’ basketball, but it also meant so much more to the school and community – that support was on display in a sea of blue and white, fans and students alike all vested in the game which didn’t go unnoticed by coach Myers.


The Community Support was out in full force for the District Championship game.

“I mean, I've been around the community for a long time, growing up and staffing. When you give these fans something to cheer about, they're going to come. And the longer you go, the more you get. They were they were fantastic tonight and we’re super thankful for our community,” Myers concluded.

Franklin Monroe advances to the regional semi-finals where they will take on the winner of Botkins vs Jackson Center on March 5^th at Vandalia Butler High School at 8pm. 

Box Scores:

Score by Quarters

FM … 08 … 04 …12 … 14 – 38
FL ….09 … 07 … 11 … 05 – 32

Team Scoring

FM: L. Brenner 1-0-2/4 – 5, E. Brenner 2-1-0/0 – 8, B. Riffle 0-0-3/3 – 3, Wilson 0-1-0/0 – 2,
Fall 1-5-7/10 – 20, Total 4-7-12/18 - 38

FL: Barhorst 1-1-3/4 – 8, Maurer 0-2-1/2 – 7, Heitkamp 0-1-0/0 – 2, Drees 1-2-2/2 – 9
Gasson 0-3-0/0 – 6, Totals 4-7-6/8 – 32

Seniors L-R: Eric Brenner, Ty Riffle, EB Fall, Tysyn Miller and Trey Wilson pose with the District Championship trophy. 
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