|
|
Jacob
Wenning drives to the bucket in a game played recently at
Versailles. Friday against Coldwater,
Wenning scored 10 points to lead
the Tigers to a 55-38 MAC victory. CNO file photo by Dylan Knoop
|
|
Cavaliers come
up lame against Versailles
Tigers defense proves supreme
By George Starks
VERSAILLES- The Versailles Tigers used good, solid defense that stymied
Coldwater in the third quarter, holding the Cavaliers to just three
points.
That defense, coupled with 11 points scored on offense, gave the Tigers
a 42-24 lead that eventually led to a 55-38 MAC victory.
“I’m happy with the win,” said Versailles coach Scott McEldowney. “We
were able to progress in some areas again and get a little better,
especially ball distribution.”
Ball distribution may have been the key for the Tigers as the
Versailles scores came from a couple of unlikely suspects in Jacob
Wenning (10 points), Evan Philipot and Damien Richard (nine each).
With Wenning leading the way on offense and Philipot scoring a season
high with nine, the ball was being dished out by none other than
sophomore Kyle Ahrens.
When the final buzzer sounded, Ahrens had collected at least seven
assists, accounting for 14 of the Versailles points.
“One of the assistant coaches said we probably had more assists tonight
than we’ve had all year,” McEldowney said laughing. “That’s good
though. We’ve got to get better in some areas and sometimes, these guys
get to going so hard to the hole that we had a couple of charges trying
to pass the ball. We need to do a better job when someone jumps out in
front of us, using the jump stop. The better we get at that, the better
off we’ll be.”
While the offense clicked, the defense was as good as it’s been in a
while, helping to create 17 Coldwater turnovers.
Even though the Tigers won the battle on the boards, Versailles gave up
too many offensive boards, especially in the first quarter (6).
“It was a pretty good defensive effort but we’d like to improve our
rebounding,” McEldowney pointed out. “We’ve (the staff) been stressing
that. We need to make sure we are never satisfied especially if we make
a deep run in the tournament. No individual or coach on this team can
ever get satisfied. There’s always something we can get better at.”
With the win, Versailles improved to 13-3 overall, 5-2 in conference
play and will battle Delphos St. John Friday in the Mac and will play
Ansonia on Saturday.
The game with the Blue Jays will be a home game for the Tigers.
|
|
|
|
