Versailles shreds Wave in season opener
By Dean Eversole
CNO Sports Correspondent 
December 3, 2011 

Greenville- The Versailles Tigers were like a python Friday night against Greenville. In the opening game for both basketball teams, the Tigers extended their man-to-man defense and started to squeeze the Wave tighter and tighter. The end result was a 67-18 runaway victory for the Tigers. 

Coming into the contest the Tigers returned every player but two off last year’s squad, while Greenville is in rebuilding mode. One advantage the Wave might have had was the fact Versailles has had six practices as a team, but in the end it didn’t matter. 

“I look forward to having some practice time with this team next week. With the playoffs (football) we had a handful of practices and two scrimmages as a full squad,” said Versailles coach Scott McEldowney. 

Any rust the Tigers may have had did not show on defense as the Tigers held the Wave to just two points in the first stanza on one field goal. On the other end, Versailles had some growing pains, but the Tigers still put up 14 points, led by Chad Winner’s five points in the opening minutes. 

As the game wore on, the Tigers found two more offensive weapons in senior Zac Niekamp, who dropped in 12 points and freshman Kyle Ahrens who also tallied 12 points. As the first half wore down the Tigers continued suffocating the Wave on defense, as the Wave had just four points with 1:57 left in the half. When the buzzer sounded, Versailles was up 33-7 and in complete control of the game. 

“I was very pleased with our effort and we always preach there are two things we control, being mentally in the game and playing hard. Doing this lets us play our game and not extend ourselves into something we don’t want to do,” said McEldowney. 

Combined with raw athletic talent, Versailles simply overwhelmed the Wave and not much changed in the second half. 

In the third period, Mitchell Campbell started to find some room in the post, putting up 11 second half points. This just made things worse for the Wave as now the Tigers had an outside/inside game to go along with the defense. Greenville did manage eight points in the third period, but it was not nearly enough to make the game interesting. 

Midway through the fourth period, the reserves for both teams finished out the game, with the Tigers picking up winning numbers, 67-18; the Wave dropped to 0-1 on the year.