The top two teams in the Cross County Conference squared off Tuesday night with the Tri-Village boys hosting Franklin-Monroe in “The Battleground.” Tri-Village came into the game 16-0 and ranked #1 in the state according to maxpreps.com. Franklin-Monroe entered the game at #7 in the state with a record of 13-1.
These two teams came into the game with a lot of recent history to their rivalry having faced each other three times last year, with each game being competitive. Tri-Village won all three, including a very close game in the third round of last year’s state tournament ending the Jets' season.
Fans arrived at Tri-Village High School as early as 2:00 p.m. to ensure themselves a seat for the game that would eventually begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Patriots started the game with a 7-0 run and looked in control early. Franklin-Monroe did not get on the board until five minutes into the game, and the first quarter ended with Tri-Village up by 5.
Franklin-Monroe battled back in the second quarter and took a modest lead. The Jets looked ready to go into halftime with a four-point lead when a foul was called against the Jets on a half court desperation shot at the buzzer. The questionable call led to three untimed Patriot free throws and a Jet lead of 25-24 at halftime.
The Jets built upon their lead slightly in the third quarter with strong inside play from Trey Mong and a key three-pointer from Zach Hyre.
The Jets opened things up in the fourth quarter when senior Travis Feitshans took over with several baskets and a key late assist. The Patriots were frustrated in their effort to catch up, missing several jumpers down the stretch. Tri-Village’s top scorer Colton Linkous got his share of points, but had trouble finding open shots all night with Jet Marcus Horner guarding him tightly throughout the game.
The Patriots hit a couple late threes to cut the lead to six with less than a minute left, but they ran out of time with the Jets winning with a final score of 54-46.
