Basketball Preview: Versailles Tigers vs. Warsaw Wildcats
Versailles has been on the road for 18 straight, but on Tuesday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Warsaw Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Versailles' favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though St. Paul Lutheran scored an imposing 74 points on Tuesday, Versailles still came out on top. Versailles snuck past the Saints with a 80-74 win. Given Versailles' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Saints are ranked 238th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ryder Williams continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 33 points along with two steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Versailles' points. Another player making a difference was Tristan Albrecht, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 68-41, which was the final score in Warsaw's tilt against the Bulldogs on Thursday. Warsaw has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their loss, Warsaw saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Logan Gemes, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Shane Poyser, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Versailles is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season. As for Warsaw, their loss was their eighth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-16.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Versailles have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Warsaw struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Versailles against the Wildcats in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 as the team secured a 86-49 win. With Versailles ahead 53-30 at the half, the game was all but over already.
