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Versailles
junior Kyle Ahrens hits for three of his game high 31 points
in the Tigers
victory over New Knoxville, 6747, Friday. CNO Photos by
Dylan Knoop
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Versailles
defense creates big offense in MAC victory
Ahrens nets 31 to
lead Tigers
By George Starks
VERSAILLES- Versailles junior Kyle Ahrens knocked down 31 points Friday
against New Knoxville as the Tigers dropped a 67-47 loss on the Rangers
in the Versailles home opener.
While the 20 point victory was nice for Versailles fans, it could have
been worse and the Tigers bench boss new it.
“We did a lot of good things tonight,” said Tigers coach Scott
McEldowney. “Sometimes when you get up by so much, you tend to lose
focus and that’s what happened to us. I hate to see a game get that
sloppy but you have to give them (NK) credit, they never gave up. They
kept fighting right to the end.”
While Ahrens was the offensive leader for Versailles with Jacob Wenning
and Evan Phlipot adding 12 and 11 each in support, it was the Tigers
defense that controlled the Rangers, forcing 18 New Knoxville turnovers.
“Our defense made things happen,” McEldowney pointed out. “Our defense
created a lot of our offense tonight and it was the defense that made
the difference.”
Holding the Rangers to a slim 18 points in the first half, The Tigers
sloppiness came in the third frame, allowing 18 point. With a 53-36
lead and eight minutes to play, McEldowney wasn’t exactly the happiness
coach in the county.
“I told the kids that we need to strive for perfection and don’t settle
for anything less,” said McEldowney. “When we go out to a big lead, our
goals are set and we need to do things better and do them perfect all
the time. We want to play as close to that as we can.”
In the 31 point performance for Ahrens, the Tiger junior went 11/11
from the foul line and hit three big triples for the Tigers.
“He’s a tough match-up,” said McEldowney. “He was able to hit some long
range three’s and that brought them out of a zone defense. Once we
brought them out of the zone, we was able to take advantage of his
height down underneath and he made some easy baskets there to. As the
game wore on, we were able to get everyone involved and our height wore
them down and that was exactly what we wanted to do going into the
game.”
Off the bench, it was Wenning that made big contributions to the Tigers
effort.
“He comes in off the bench and he doesn’t know how long he’s going to
be in there, said McEldowney. “He’s accepted that roll and takes
advantage of that time. He lays it on the line and plays as hard as he
can and scraps after everything. He usually provides us with a big
boost.”
The home opener brought on a big crowd for the Tigers and McEldowney
talked about the Tiger faithful.
“I think it’s going to continue to be that way,” McEldowney pointed
out. “I think the fans are excited to see these kids. They are a lot of
fun to watch.”
Versailles, 3-0, will play Tuesday at home with Lehman Catholic then
will host the Holiday Tournament on December 27-28.
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Junior Jace Barga
drives the lane late in the game for Versailles.
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