VERSAILLES – The Versailles Tigers delivered one of their most complete performances of the season, handily defeating the MVL league-leading Tippecanoe Red Devils 69-40 on the Tigers’ home court.
“Everybody finished here tonight, and it was just the perfect storm for us here tonight,” said Versailles coach Travis Swank. “The defensive pressure was unbelievable tonight, more than anything else.”
Tippecanoe entered the matchup averaging 62.3 points per game with four players scoring in double figures while allowing just 46.6 points per contest. Versailles’ defense flipped the script, limiting the Red Devils to just four players scoring on the night.
“Tipp City is a good team, even though we came out here and performed the way we did tonight,” Swank said. “They have some players, they have some height, they have some athletes, so hopefully it gives us some positive energy going forward and gets us some confidence. We are a really good team, and we beat some good teams, and we can compete with a lot of good teams as well.”
The Tigers seized control early, exploding to a 21-4 first-quarter lead behind six points each from Ethan Wilker and Drake Ahrens, five from Simeon Hess, and four from Jack Borchers.
“Our physicality in our league has prepared us to play as physically as we did here tonight,” Swank stated. “We wanted to be physical on the defensive end, and we wanted to be really physical on the offensive end, and our kids displayed that here tonight.”
Versailles continued to extend its advantage in the second quarter, outscoring Tippecanoe 20-13. Ahrens led the surge with seven points, including a three-pointer and a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the free-throw line. Carson Bergman added six points, Maddox Stonebraker connected from long range, and Wilker and Schwartz each chipped in a basket to send the Tigers into halftime comfortably ahead, 41-17.
The dominance carried into the third quarter as Versailles pushed the lead to 33 points with a 19-10 frame. Hess scored six points in the period, while Ahrens and Borchers added four apiece. Wilker contributed three points, and Bergman added a basket, giving the Tigers a commanding 60-27 lead entering the final quarter.
Midway through the fourth, Swank turned to his bench as Tippecanoe edged the period 13-9, but the outcome was never in doubt, sealing a 29-point Versailles victory.
“Total team effort,” Swank said. “Energy level was on point, and that is what we needed to come out here. Those guys came in here, and they were ready to go.”
Drake Ahrens and Simeon Hess paced Versailles—and all scorers—with 17 points each in the convincing home win.
BOX SCORE:
VERSAILLES 69, TIPPECANOE 40
VERSAILLES – D. Ahrens 17, S. Hess 17, E. Wilker 11, J. Borchers 10, C. Bergman 8, M. Stonebraker 3, K. Schwartz 2, D. Barga 1 – TOTALS 27 9-12 2 69
TIPPECANOE – B. Otto1 14, H. Ganger 12, CJ Bailey 8, C. Turner 6 – TOTALS 10 8-8 4 40
3-POINTERS
Versailles 2 (D. Ahrens 1, M. Stonebraker 1)
Tippecanoe 4 (CJ Bailey 2, H. Ganger 2)
SCORE by QUARTERS
21-20-19-09 69 Versailles
04-13-10-13 40 Tippecanoe
