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Versailles repeats as tournament champion


CHUCK RUNNER/Advocate photo

Versailles’ Damien Richard drives to the basket during the championship game of the Versailles Holiday Tournament against Miami East Saturday night in Versailles.
12/30/2012 10:14:00 PM

 By Dean Eversole

 VERSAILLES – Miami East held the Tigers dynamic duo of Kyle Ahrens and Chad Winner to a combined 21 points but still lost the game 54-46 in the championship of the Versailles Holiday Tournament.

For Versailles it was a perfect test of where they are as a team. The answer turned out to be pretty good.

The 21 points was 16 points below their average. However, proving what coach Scott McEldowney has been saying all year, the Tigers showed this is not a one-man or two-man team, it is a complete team.

With Ahrens and Winner well below their averages, the question is then how did the Tigers win the contest? The answer starts with Damien Richard, who dropped in 13 points, and Nick Campbell, who added seven; Jacob Wenning also added five points.

“Ahrens and Winner each had four in the first half, but we still put up a decent point total. The other guys really stepped up for us and that is something we need to do. Nick hit some big shots, and Evan Phlipot and Jacob Hietkamp hit the boards tonight, and also Jacob Wenning did some nice things for us,” McEldowney said.

Along with the solid scoring from other positions, the Tigers also played attacking defense and dominated the boards.

Versailles snared 28 rebounds, 14 of those coming on the offensive end. That was a critical aspect of the game as the Tigers struggled with their shots but were able to convert misses into points. On the other end East managed just 14 rebounds with four of those being offensive rebounds.

In the first period it was clear East’s game plan was to deny Ahrens and force Versailles to look elsewhere.

The Vikings chased Ahrens and Winner around the court, mixing a man-to-man defense with some triangle and two. The strategy worked as the Vikings held the Tigers to just nine points and built a 12-9 advantage after one period of play.

The next eight minutes was the some thing. East battled to keep the ball away from Ahrens, but on the flip side this left open other players and they converted. Campbell and Hietkamp both hit buckets as the Tigers built a 22-14 advantage. It went up to 10 points at 28-18 late in the period, but East managed a free throw making it 28-19 at the break.
“Give East a lot of credit as they played very hard and they were able to chase Chad and Kyle. We need to learn some patience and let them get open and draw the double team,” McEldowney said.

The opening minutes of the second half belonged to Versailles as Winner made it a 10-point game at 31-21 with a three ball. However, East would not go away as they continued nipping at the heels and eventually made it a 33-30 game.

Winner closed out the period with a long three, pushing it to a 40-34 game. Even as East stayed close the game never really felt in danger, but it certainly was a bit more concerning then the previous five games.

The final eight minutes was a lot like the third period. Versailles would attempt to pull away, only to be caught by East. The key to the Versailles win was Richard and Ahrens offensively. The duo made a number of big plays, each one pushing East backwards.

With every set back, the clock became the enemy of Miami East. The final blow was two buckets from Ahrens building a 53-46 game with just 42 ticks remaining. After a couple more possessions Miami East coach Allen Mack tossed up the white flag.

The reserves from both teams finished out the contest and for the second consecutive year, the Tigers won the Versailles Holiday Tournament with a win over Miami East.

In the consolation game, Anna rolled to a 66-41 win as Carter Bensman dropped in 21 points and Chandon Williams paced all scorers with 24 points.

Semifinals
In the Versailles Tigers first four wins, the second quarter was the difference maker. In those four wins the Tigers have outscored their opponents by 43 points, but Friday night against Anna it wasn’t until the fourth quarter when Versailles made their big push, pulling away for a 70-54 win.

The late push may have been a result of rust. The Tigers have not played since defeating New Knoxville two weeks ago. Weather and Christmas have stalled out the Versailles schedule, leaving them a lot of season yet to played in the New Year.

Led by sophomore sensation Kyle Ahrens, the Tigers pulled away from Anna in the final eight minutes winning the second game of the Versailles Holiday Tournament. The win earned a spot for the Tigers in the championship game against Miami East, who downed Brookville 53-46. The Vikings went into the championship game at 6-0, pitting two undefeated teams in the contest.

Ahrens led all scorers with 29 points and 10 rebounds as he was able to dominate the game in all areas. Chad Winner added 18 and Damien Richard tossed down 13, including two thunder dunks.


 

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