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Jacob
Heitcamp takes a flying leap into the student section at Trent
Arena Saturday after
Versailles upended Roger Bacon, 56-53 to win the
D-III regional title. Versailles will now
head to Columbus for the
state semi-finals Thursday.
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Versailles fries Bacon in regional final
Tigers heading to Columbus
By George Starks
KETTERING- It’s been a long time coming but the Versailles Tigers
finally did it.
Not since 2004 when Versailles lost to St. Henry, 61-49, in a game that
would be dubbed as the battle of the MAC. On that day, the Tigers would
suffer their only loss of the season, finishing with a 27-1 mark.
Saturday in the regional finals at Trent Arena in Kettering, the Tigers
proved they could withstand a pressure cooker situation.
In a game that had more drama than the Young and the Restless, it was
sophomore Kyle Ahrens that nailed two pressure packed free throws with
3.5 seconds remaining in the game that helped Versailles hang on for a
56-53 victory over Roger Bacon.
“This is just an amazing feeling,” said Versailles coach Scott
McEldowney. “It’s nice to get rewarded and reward all those kids and
for everyone that helps me out.”
While most coaches wouldn’t want a sophomore in that situation,
McEldowney has no problems with it.
“He may only be a sophomore by grade but he’s no ordinary sophomore,”
said McEldowney. “He plays AAU ball and plays in a lot of high
profile games. He’s more like a junior.”
When Ahrens stepped to the line, he knew it was all on him and it was
time to shine.
“Ever since I was a kid my dad taught me to focus on the up and
through,” Ahrens said. “To me it’s eyes, balance and follow through and
that’s all I could focus on. I stood there, zoned everybody else out
and concentrated on the hoop and the ball and God was there with me to
help me with that.”
Ahrens scored a very quiet 18 points to lead the way for Versailles as
he drew the Spartans best defender.
“I like getting the other teams best on me because it gives my
teammates the chance to go to the hole and score,” Ahrens stated. “As
for me, I just find another way to score, maybe by crashing the boards.”
For Ahrens, going to Columbus is a dream come true.
“I remember watching that ’04 team when I was a little kid and I still
remember it,” Ahrens commented. “We are one of the two teams in boys’
basketball history of the school to do this. Now it’s time to go win
it.”
Versailles came out; taking the early lead but it was Bacon that
battled back.
With the Tigers up 16-8 after one quarter, the Spartans started to
march in the second eight minutes, going on a 9-2 run to close the gap
to an 18-17 deficit.
Bacon would eventually take the lead at 20-18 with 4:01 remaining in
the half but the Tigers would close out the half on a run of their own
and take a 27-23 lead at the break.
Despite the Spartans switching from a straight man and going to a
diamond press, Versailles would never fold even though there were 21
turnovers committed on behalf of the Tigers.
“I thought they were a little taken by us,” said McEldowney. “We were
able to get around that pressure and get some open looks. We mixed it
up on defense by going to our zone at times early in the game. The zone
was good for us. It kept us out of foul trouble.”
While Ahrens netted 18 and senior Chad Winner 14, it was the play of
Evan Philpot off the bench that was key in the Tigers success as
Philpot netted a dozen.
“You need everybody to step up and Evan is playing the way we felt like
he could play all year,” McEldowney said. “He’s being a little more
aggressive and he’s comfortable playing varsity basketball this year
He’s caught up to the speed of the game. This is how we get to Columbus
with everybody stepping up, understanding and accepting their roles.”
Before the start of the game, McEldowney thought a key in the game
would be to control the battle on the boards.
Versailles owned that aspect, 36-21 and 13-7 on the offensive end.
“That was huge tonight and has been huge throughout this run,”
McEldowney acknowledged. “We did a great job checking out through this
run. Used to be we just wanted to out jump people but the more we
played the more we realized we needed to get a body on someone because
there are people out there more athletic than us. We were out there
diving for loose balls and that was huge.”
Versailles will take on Leavittsburg Labrae Thursday at 2 pm at the
Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University.
(Writers Note: Watch CNO Tuesday for more game interviews from senior
Chad Winner and coach McEldowney as well as my thoughts on the game and
the upcoming trip to Columbus.)
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Evan
Philpot battles for a rebound Saturday against the Spartans.
Philpot came off the bench to score 12 for the Tigers.
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Versailles
senior Chad Winner was hounded all night and managed to net 14 for the
Tigers in support of their regional title victory.
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