CLAYTON – The No. 3 seed Versailles Tigers used a dominant first quarter and balanced scoring attack to defeat the No. 16 seed Middletown Madison Mohawks 70-30 in OHSAA Division V tournament action, advancing further down the postseason trail.
“We came out with a lot of energy, a lot of effort, that’s what we wanted to do,” said Versailles coach Travis Swank. “Good things happen to you when you’re focused and ready to go from the get-go, and we were able to do that here tonight.”
Versailles wasted little time establishing control, racing out to a 27-4 first-quarter lead. Blake Monnin paced the early surge with eight points while Carson Bergman, Drake Ahrens, and Maddox Stonebraker each added five points, all connecting from beyond the arc. Kade Schwartz chipped in four points as the Tigers dominated both offensively and on the boards at each end of the floor.
“Offensively, we executed really well and defensively got out there early and played our physical brand of basketball that we’re accustomed to,” Swank said. “We really put the stamp on the game with our physical defense.”
The Tigers maintained their command in the second quarter, taking the period 14-8 and heading into halftime with a comfortable 41-12 advantage. Drake Ahrens and Stonebraker each scored five points in the quarter, including Stonebraker’s second three-pointer of the night. Cam Ahrens and Monnin each added a basket to round out the first-half scoring.
Drake Ahrens exited the game with 1:19 remaining in the second quarter with Versailles leading 41-12 and did not return in the second half, resting a tender ankle.
“Carson Bergman did a phenomenal job for us, especially when Drake went down, and we had to have another ball handler come in for us,” Swank said. “He’s slippery, and he’s also strong. He’s not the tallest guy on the court, but he plays a lot bigger than he really is because he’s so physically strong. It’s good to see him have a good game here tonight.”
With the outcome well in hand, Swank went liberally to his bench in the third quarter. Cam Ahrens led the Tigers in the period with eight points while Reed Raterman added five, including a three-pointer. Monnin and Stonebraker each contributed two points as Versailles outscored Madison 17-12 in the quarter to take a 58-24 lead into the final period.
“We expected to win here tonight, but we wanted to do it in the right way, in a manner that we needed to control the game,” Swank noted. “I thought we did that at both ends of the floor.”
The fourth quarter saw the Tigers go even deeper into the bench, inserting junior varsity players along with varsity reserves. Carson Bergman and Brady Philpot each scored four points while Ethan Heitkamp and Simeon Hess added two points apiece as Versailles took the quarter 12-6 to secure the 40-point running clock victory.
“You don’t take anything for granted,” Swank said. “You have to go out there and execute and be sharp. Tournament basketball is a funny thing, and you want to be playing your best right now. You don’t want to sleepwalk through a game and have it carry over to the next one. We did what we needed to do tonight, and hopefully we can do the same on Saturday.”
Ten Tigers scored in the win, led by Blake Monnin and Maddox Stonebraker with 12 points each.
Versailles now turns its attention to the No. 1 seed Williamsburg Wildcats, who improved to 24-0 with a 51-44 win over No. 8 seed Cincinnati Madeira. The Tigers and Wildcats will meet Saturday, March 7 at Xenia High School with a 4 p.m. start time for the district championship.
“When you’re in a district final, you’re always going to get somebody that is really good,” Swank explained. “We’ve been fortunate enough over a long period of time to be playing in these games, so our kids should be ready for this moment. If we go out there and execute and play as hard as we can, we’re going to be right there at the very end.”
Swank noted Williamsburg’s size and perimeter shooting will present a significant challenge.
“Williamsburg has a lot of size. They’re one of the bigger teams we’ve played all year,” he said. “They shoot the three-ball a lot and have a couple of kids that can really light it up from outside. They also like to exploit the post, so they play a lot of inside-out basketball. We have to make sure we stay attached and make things tough for them.”
BOX SCORE:
VERSAILLES 70, MADISON 30
VERSAILLES – B. Monnin 12, M. Stonebraker 12, D. Ahrens 10, C. Ahrens 10, C. Bergman 9, R. Ratterman 5, K. Schwartz 4, B. Philpot 4, E. Heitkamp 2, S. Hess 2 – TOTALS 24 7-8 5 70
MADISON – K. Smith 11, H. Werts 9, M. Grubbs 8, D. Poplin 2 – TOTALS 6 3-4 5 30
3-POINTERS
Versailles 5 (S. Maddox 2, C. Bergman 1, D. Ahrens 1, R. Raterman 1)
Madison 5 (D. Smith 3, M. Grubbs 1, H. Werts 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
27-14-17-12 70 Versailles
04-08-12-06 30 Madison
