Versailles Drake Ahrens led the Tigers with 22 points in Saturday’s 51-28 win over Russia. (Press Pros File Photos)
Versailles’ guard Drake Ahrens and Blake Monnin combined for 32 points, in a dominant bounce-back win over Russia. The Tigers outscored Russia 35-12 in the paint, and pulled away to a 51-28 victory.
4,200 square feet make up a regulation high school basketball court. But if you can control just 456 of them, you’ll win plenty more games than you’ll lose.
The lane…the key…the paint…call it what you will. They’re the two rectangles on either end of the floor where most of the winning and losing takes place in high school basketball. Versailles could call it the scene of the attack, because the Tigers viciously mauled Russia on both ends, outscoring the Raiders 35-12 in the paint in a 51-28 win Saturday night.
VPP, in Versailles, proudly sponsors OHSAA and Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“There was really nothing on our board tonight except the question, ‘Are we tough enough?’” Versailles coach Travis Swank said. “I think our kids answered that here tonight.”
Alan Brads writes OHSAA sports and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Given the dominance down low, you might anticipate a showstopping performance by Versailles’ bigs. And to be fair, they don’t start anyone who isn’t big. But the point guard, Drake Ahrens, scored 12 points in the lane, and six more on free throws that originated in the lane. He led all scorers with 22 points.
“He’s been our point guard for four years,” Swank said. “He has a lot on his plate. He just responds to all types of situations. He’ll be the first to tell you he didn’t play his best game last night, and he wanted to prove that that’s not Drake Ahrens that you saw on Friday night. So he came out here and played good basketball.”
Ahrens led the charge as Versailles bruised its way to a 20-4 first-quarter lead via 12 paint points, five free throws, and a buzzer-beating three by Ahrens. The Tigers never let Russia back into striking range on the way to a 12-4 record.
The Keyhole Pizza supports all local sports on Press Pros.
“We got to see what we’re made of,” Ahrens said. “We want to know how strong we are to be able to get back up, which is obviously gonna help us down the road.”
The much-needed win comes on the heels of losing three of five, including a beatdown by Delphos St. John’s last night.
Russia slides to 8-9 after consecutive losses, and back below .500 for the second time this season.
“We gotta stay resilient,” first-year head coach Devin Limburg said. “We’ve done it so far this year. We’ve taken blows like this, and we just gotta come ready on Monday and look for a bounce-back win. We need one.”
The last time the Raiders finished a season staring upward at .500 was 2020-2021. But Limburg isn’t ready to throw in the towel yet, and thinks their quality of competition could pay dividends in February, and maybe even March.
It’s not easy to pile wins together, but once the tournament hits, we’re gonna play some teams that are ranked ahead of us that I think we’re a little better than, and I like our chances because we’ve played against these physical teams.” – Russia coach Devin Limburg
“As frustrating as it is that every game is a tough game, it’s so good for us,” Limburg said. “I love our schedule. It’s not easy to pile wins together, but once the tournament hits, we’re gonna play some teams that are ranked ahead of us that I think we’re a little better than, and I like our chances because we’ve played against these physical teams.”
The undersized Raiders rely on tactical ball movement and well-placed passes to score, but the Tigers’ length and height from positions one through five disrupted Russia’s offense, which never found a secondary method of putting the ball in the hoop.
“We had to play as a team to stuff up the paint and force them to hit outside shots and tough twos,” junior guard Blake Monnin said.
Guards Ahrens and Monnin went on the attack. They pushed Russia’s ball handlers a few feet back off the three-point line and occupied their passing lanes. On the occasion Russia got the ball safely into the lane, forwards Kade Schwartz, Reed Raterman, and Maddox Stonebraker typically shut it down.
“We had a lot of aggression,” Monnin said. “We didn’t play very well last night, and we got pushed around. So we had to bounce back tonight.”
Minster Bank is a proud sponsor of the Shelby County League on Press Pros Magazine.com.
What little offensive success Russia tasted came from beyond the arc in the second quarter while Ahrens sat with two fouls. When Ahrens was on the bench, the Raiders outscored Versailles 12-8.
Carter Hoehne came off the Raider bench and led the team with eight points. Cash Grogean followed with six. Russia’s starters combined for 13 points, while the bench scored 15.
Knapke Kitchens and Baths proudly sponsors Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“They did a good job keying in on Cooper [Unverferth] and Grant [Bergman],” Limburg said. “And Cooper getting into foul trouble hurt us a lot … But as far as Carter goes, he was ready to go. He played a lot of minutes tonight and I thought he did well for himself.”
The all-around all-star Ahrens led all scorers with 22. Monnin added 10 – eight in the paint plus a pair of foul shots.
Ahrens’ dribble drives and Monnin’s graceful finishes fueled the 20-4 lead.
Doubt about the result only trickled back into the equation after Ahrens was called for a charge, his second personal foul, and sat about four minutes. Hoehne capitalized on the extra breathing room, and knocked down a pair of threes to narrow the lead briefly to single digits before heading to the locker room at 25-15.
Ahrens’ absence plus a switch by Russia to a 2-3 zone produced the fruitless offensive quarter, but the Tigers didn’t stay asleep at the wheel. They roared back awake in the third, allowing just two points while scoring 13. They didn’t depend on steals, although they took their fair share. But mostly they just denied Russia any reasonable look at the bucket, and rebounded much better than they did early on.
Ahrens, who threw the first punch with a 12-point first quarter, delivered the knockout blow with just over six minutes to play. He poked the ball away around half court, scooped it, took one dribble, then elevated for a one-handed slam, getting fouled along the way.
“Our defense is our offense,” Ahrens said.”
The Phelan Agency, in Versailles, proudly supports area sports on Press Pros.
It was the best showcase all night of the vertical that allows him to lead the team in rebounds as a point guard.
The free throw pushed the lead to 40-20, and the benches emptied soon after.
Even the Versailles bench squad won the day, inching the deficit up to 51-28 by the final horn. The overall dominance left Russia with little bright side and no consolation. Well, except for a blowout win in the charity diaper donation competition. Russia beat Versailles by about 4,000 diapers.
The Raiders will try to turn their fortunes around on Tuesday at Houston before a brutal final stretch against Botkins, Fort Loramie, Marion Local, and Anna.
Versailles still has to face three of the top five MAC teams, including Marion Local and St. Henry, but first, the Tigers travel northwest to 11-6 Fort Recovery.
Huffer Chiropractic can help your athlete perform at their best – with offices in Osgood, Jackson Center, Marysville, and Dublin, Ohio.