Versailles has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Buffalo Bison at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Versailles' favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Versailles can now show off ten landslide victories after their most recent game on Wednesday. They blew past Tipton 78-49 at home. Given Versailles' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while Tipton is ranked 163rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Versailles' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ryder Williams, who scored 30 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. That makes it eight consecutive games in which Williams has scored at least a third of Versailles' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Reese Murdock, who scored 14 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Buffalo fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back victories it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They enjoyed a cozy 53-34 win over Sherwood last Thursday. Buffalo pushed the score to 48-28 by the end of the third, a deficit Sherwood cut but never quite recovered from.
Blair Abraham and Braden Mcgregor were among the main playmakers for Buffalo as the former almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds and the latter scored 16 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Abraham hasn't dropped below nine rebounds for seven straight games. Another player making a difference was Carson Shepperly, who scored six points along with five assists.
Versailles' win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 18-3. As for Buffalo, their victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 4-12.
Saturday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Versailles have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 45.4% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Buffalo struggles in that department as they've made 37.9% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Versailles' way against Buffalo in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 as Versailles made off with a 79-59 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Versailles since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
