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Versailles
coach Scott McEldowney stands with the regional
net in hand as all of Versailles cheered
for the Tigers. Thursday, the
Tigers will play the LaBrae Vikings in Columbus at 2 pm. CNO Photo by
George Starks
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LaBrae next for Versailles Thursday
By Joe Scalzo/George Starks
VERSAILLES- While the Versailles Tigers watched sophomore Kyle Ahrens
calmly sink two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation to
take a 56-53 victory over Roger Bacon, the Tigers next opponent,
LaBrae, was experiencing a scene of its own.
The difference for the Vikings was that LaBrae was putting the smack
down on Beachwood, 17-2 with 31 seconds having elapsed in the second
quarter.
According to writer Joe Scalzo (Youngstown News), the comparison was
much like the victory when Germany wiped out Poland (or John Daly
beating chocolate cheesecake), as Vikings handed the Bison a 59-30 beat
down at the Canton Fieldhouse to earn their first trip to Columbus.
LaBrae features junior Peyton Aldridge, the two-time Northeast Inland
district player of the year.
In the victory over Beachwood, Aldridge finished with 14 points, 17
rebounds and seven blocks for the 24-3 Vikings.
Aldridge summed it up well.
“It’s better than I even thought,” said Aldridge, who has been
attending state tournament games since he was a kid. “Going down there,
I’m gonna be watching the games. Knowing I’ll be playing in one is just
a blessing.”
LaBrae dominated from the start, utilizing a 3-2 zone that kept
Beachwood’s rabbit-quick guard, John Davis, from penetrating, shutting
down its offense. The Bison couldn’t shoot from outside — they were 0
for 24 from beyond the arc and were 2 of 42 from the field at one point
— and whenever they did get inside, Aldridge was their to alter the
shot, either by blocking it or threatening to.
“It’s that next stepping stone,” said LaBrae coach Chad Kiser. “We got
the school record for wins for the third straight year — we’re up to 24
now — and we wanted to get that next step.
“To be able to do it means a lot for the program.”
LaBrae dominated from the start, utilizing a 3-2 zone that kept
Beachwood’s rabbit-quick guard, John Davis (Northeast Lakes Player of
the Year), from penetrating, shutting down its offense. The Bison
couldn’t shoot from outside — they were 0 for 24 from beyond the arc
and were 2 of 42 from the field at one point — and whenever they did
get inside, Aldridge was their to alter the shot, either by blocking it
or threatening to.
“When did we decide to do that [defense]? Honestly, somewhere around 4
o’clock [Saturday],” said Kiser, whose team played a lot of zone during
the regular season, but switched to man for much of the tournament. “It
was solely to stop [Davis].”
In addition to Aldridge, the Vikings will feature Carl Brown and
Marcell Richardson who both each added 15 points for LaBrae, which led
45-10 after three quarters. (LaBrae’s students chanted “Double digits!”
when the Bison finally reached 10 with 9 seconds left in the third.)
At times, it looked like a 1-2-2 zone, but when a reporter tried to pin
him down, Kiser smiled and said, “I don’t want to give away my secrets.
It’s … it’s … it’s … I can’t say.
“It’s a good defense.”
Versailles and LaBrae will tip at 2:30 Thursday at the Schott in
Columbus.
The winner will play either Ironton or Ottawa-Glandorf on Saturday in a
10:30 start.
The following is the schedule for all state semi-final games.
10:45 a.m.
Division III Game #1
Ironton vs. Ottawa-Glandorf
2:00 p.m.
Division III Game #2
Versailles vs. Leavittsburg LaBrae
5:15 p.m.
Division II Game #1
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Vincent Warren
8:30 p.m.
Division II Game #2
Kettering Archbishop Alter vs. Columbus Bishop Watterson
Friday, March 22 - Semifinals
10:45 a.m.
Division IV Game #1
Troy Christian vs. Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph
2:00 p.m.
Division IV Game #2
Leipsic vs. Lancaster Fairfield Christian
5:15 p.m.
Division I Game #1
Mentor vs. Columbus Northland
8:30 p.m.
Division I Game #2
Cincinnati Walnut Hills vs. Toledo Rogers
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