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Sophomore sensation Justin Ahrens puts down a one handed slam dunk
against Urbana Wednesday.
Ahrens scored 34 as Versailles topped the
Hillclimbers, 67-54. CNO Photos by Dylan Knoop
Versailles
rolls over Urbana
Ahrens leads the way
By George Starks
VERSAILLES- He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow.
That describes Versailles sophomore Justin Ahrens.
Ahrens poured in a game high 34 points Wednesday night, including five
treys, as Versailles rolled to a 67-54 victory over Urbana.
“When we went to the locker room after the game, I thanked the guys for
the early Christmas present,” said Versailles coach Scott McEldowney
after the game. “Justin has matured extremely well. He plays under
control and shoots the ball extremely well. He’s a tough match-up.”
Of the 34 points scored, Ahrens had three very loud dunks with the
first being of the one handed variety off a steal and a fast break
opportunity.
While Ahrens had the crowd on their feet, it was junior Austin Knapke
that was doing the dirty work.
Unofficially, Knapke had seven rebounds with three on the offensive
glass while scoring eight points.
In addition, McEldowney had five boards with nine points while
sophomore Keaton McEldowney chipped in with eight points as well.
“We have several guys in that six to nine range,” said the Tigers
coach. “These guys are all hitting their percentages and there will be
times when a team throws a box and one on Justin that one or two of
them will step up and put up some double digits themselves.”
With Ahrens scoring 17 of the Tigers 21 first quarter points, it didn’t
take Urbana long to realize that Ahrens had to be put out of the game.
With less than three minutes left in the half, Ahrens was on the bench
with two fouls, accounting for 22 of the 30 points on the board and a
30-20 Versailles lead.
Urbana tried to take advantage of the situation, closing the gap to
32-25 with 2:06 left in the half.
That would be as close as the Hillclimbers would get in the half as
Versailles would go into the break with a 39-31 lead as senior Brett
McEldowney would nail a three at the buzzer.
“This team showed me they could battle back,” said McEldowney. “That
shot by Brett was a big momentum builder going into the half. That shot
was somewhat from half court but when it went in, it fired the kids up.”
After the break, Versailles, with Ahrens on the floor, was able to
maintain the advantage going into the final frame, holding a 55-45 lead
with eight minutes left in the game.
In the final quarter, the Tigers turned up the heat on defense, holding
Urbana to only nine points.
Now 7-1 on the season, the Tigers will welcome in three quality team on
Tuesday for the Tigers Holiday Tournament.
Versailles will open the tournament with Chaminade-Jullian while
the opener will feature Anna and Miami East.
“All three of these teams are quality teams with three different styles
of play,” said McEldowney.
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