Antwerp’s Jagger Landers (10) puts up a final game-tying 3-point attempt in the Division IV state semifinals against New Madison Tri-Village at UD Arena in Dayton. A rally from 10 down in the fourth quarter came up three points short as the No. 3 Archers were defeated in a 44-41 heartbreaker.
Antwerp sophomore Landon Brewer (42) drives to the hoop for a transition bucket against New Madison Tri-Village in the D-IV state semifinals at UD Arena in Dayton. Brewer led the Archers with 18 points and four 3-pointers in a 44-41 season-ending defeat.
Antwerp senior guard Luke Krouse (12) lines up a 3-point attempt with Tri-Village defender Josh Scantland (5) leaping in to block during Saturday’s D-IV state semifinal in Dayton. Krouse finished with seven points, six assists and three steals in his final game for the Archers.
Antwerp senior Jagger Landers (center) is double-teamed by New Madison Tri-Village defenders Josh Scantland (5) and Layne Sarver (15) during Saturday’s state semifinals in Dayton. Landers, the Archers’ all-time leading scorer, was held to 11 points in his final game for Antwerp in a 44-41 defeat to the No. 5 Patriots.
Antwerp’s Jagger Landers (10) puts up a final game-tying 3-point attempt in the Division IV state semifinals against New Madison Tri-Village at UD Arena in Dayton. A rally from 10 down in the fourth quarter came up three points short as the No. 3 Archers were defeated in a 44-41 heartbreaker.
Antwerp sophomore Landon Brewer (42) drives to the hoop for a transition bucket against New Madison Tri-Village in the D-IV state semifinals at UD Arena in Dayton. Brewer led the Archers with 18 points and four 3-pointers in a 44-41 season-ending defeat.
Antwerp senior guard Luke Krouse (12) lines up a 3-point attempt with Tri-Village defender Josh Scantland (5) leaping in to block during Saturday’s D-IV state semifinal in Dayton. Krouse finished with seven points, six assists and three steals in his final game for the Archers.
Antwerp senior Jagger Landers (center) is double-teamed by New Madison Tri-Village defenders Josh Scantland (5) and Layne Sarver (15) during Saturday’s state semifinals in Dayton. Landers, the Archers’ all-time leading scorer, was held to 11 points in his final game for Antwerp in a 44-41 defeat to the No. 5 Patriots.
DAYTON — Antwerp fell just short of a spot in the Division IV state championship game, with a resilient rally coming up three points short as the No. 3 Archers suffered a 44-41 loss to New Madison Tri-Village in the state semifinals at UD Arena on Saturday.
The heartbreaking loss was characterized by fortitude from the Archers (26-2), who came back from down 10 late in the second quarter only to see a possible game-tying 3-pointer from senior Jagger Landers fall short at the buzzer.
There were plenty of points where Antwerp were in dire straits against No. 5 Tri-Village (26-3), which entered its first state tournament since 2015 on a 15-game win streak and outscoring its opponents by 32 points per game.
“(Tri-Village) made some really big shots, especially in the fourth quarter, but our just kept on coming,” Antwerp head coach Doug Billman said after the game. “There’s times I’m sure when people were sitting in that gym and they probably said Antwerp’s probably done now, but our guys just kept on battling.”
The Archers led 6-2 to begin the game thanks to back-to-back threes from Landon Brewer and Jagger Landers before Tri-Village scored eight unanswered to take a 10-6 lead. The Archers immediately answered back with two steals and two layups to tie it at ten before Tri-Village ended the quarter on a 4-0 run.
Tri-Village’s all-time leading scorer Layne Sarver had the first eight points for the Patriots in the game, propelling the Patriots on the 8-0 run himself.
Up 14-10 after a quarter, both sides battled through scoring droughts before Sarver broke the skid with a mid-range jumper and then a triple a minute later to put the Patriots up 22-10.
Sarver broke the drought with a mid-range jumper, and then a minute later Sarver knocked down a triple to make it 22-10 in favor of mid-range.
“The guy to my left (Sarver) made a lot of plays plays on both ends of the floor tonight, he’s a special player. He’s able to get his shot off and make plays and create shots for other. It’s why he’s our all-time leading scorer and the ball is in his hands the majority of the game to make plays for us,” said Tri-Village head coach Josh Sagester during the postgame press conference.
The three prompted Billman to take a timeout and out of it the Archers went straight to the post where Landers knocked down a jumper to cut it to ten.
Another three-minute scoring drought ensued and it wasn’t until a Luke Krouse free-throw-line jumper tickled the twin as the buzzer sounded that the drought was broken and Antwerp went to the half down eight.
“We had decent looks and we just didn’t knock them in,” explained Billman. “I thought they did a nice job of taking away some of our actions and really poking and digging at the basketball.”
Antwerp continued to eat into the Patriot lead in the second half as Brewer knocked down a jumper before an Archer steal led to a 3-pointer from Brewer. Next, Landers jumped a passing lane for a steal before being fouled on a layup. The ensuing two freebies made it a one-point ballgame at 22-21.
Justin Finkbine and the Patriots responded with a fast-break layup a minute later, but Brewer’s scorching third quarter continued as the sophomore drained a trey while being fouled. The ensuing make at the line put Antwerp ahead on the scoreboard for the first time since a 10-8 lead with 3:42 in the first quarter.
“It was a big momentum swinger there and it really helped us get back in and finish off a run,” Brewer said of the four-point play. “It was a big moment. It meant a lot to our team and our confidence going forward in the game.”
The momentum stopped there, though, as the Patriots exploded for an 11-0 run to again put Antwerp down double digits.
A Carson Altimus three 30 seconds later brought the lead back down to seven to end the quarter. The three was the only field goal not made by Landers, Krouse or Brewer in the game.
The final period saw Antwerp claw back from a 35-28 hole to trail by just one on a Krouse trey with 5:56 remaining. A Sarver bucket put the Patriots up three points but a Brewer longball tied the contest up at 37 with 2:54 in regulation.
With the game knotted, Sarver again answered on the other end with a 3-pointer just 26 seconds later to put the Pats back on top.
“They are a really good team too so I know they’ve probably been in that spot,” Krouse said of the Patriots. “They punched right back so it was just two good teams punching back and forth and they just got the last punch.”
Tri-Village kept Antwerp in it with missed free throws down the stretch, though a Suggs miss with a minute left proved to be key. After missing the front end of a one-and-one, Sarver — a state champion high jumper, soared above everyone to grab an offensive rebound.
The rebound allowed the Patriots to run more clock and ultimately knock down two free throws to ice the game.
“Those are winning plays,” Billman said of Sarver’s two crucial plays down the stretch. “That was a big three to tie it and he jumps one right back down our throat and then the rebound off the missed free throw was big too.”
Sarver missed a pair of free throws that would have put the Patriots up four with five ticks left, setting up a final chance for Antwerp. Luke Krouse found a trailing Landers, whose shot at the horn banged off the rim.
Brewer had 18 points to lead the Archers while Jagger Landers had 11 points and nine rebounds. Sarver led all scorers with 20 points.
The Archers graduate seven seniors in Kaden Recker, Gaige McMichael, Landers, Krouse, Kaden Phares, Hunter Sproles and Mason Steel.
The Archers finished the season a school-record 26 wins and the first regional title in program history.
ANTWERP (41) — Recker 0; McMichael 0; Landers 11; Krouse 7; Brewer 18; Moore 0; Altimus 5; Lichty 0; Sproles 0. Totals 12-37 10-14 41.
TRI-VILLAGE (44) — Delong 2; Suggs 5; Scantland 7; Sarver 20; Finkbine 8; Hale 0; Cook 0; Printz 0. Totals 17-38 5-14 44.
Three-point goals: Antwerp 7-24 (Brewer 4, Landers, Krouse, Altimus), Tri-Village 5-12 (Sarver 4, Suggs). Rebounds: Antwerp 24 (Landers 9), Tri-Village 29 (Finkbine 9). Turnvoers: Antwerp 14, Tri-Village 13.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Sign up to receive breaking news alerts from The Crescent-News.
Sign up to receive the daily headlines from The Crescent-News.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.