Tiger boys fall just short against Notre Dame

BY ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

NEW LONDON ? The New London and Notre Dame boys? basketball teams put on a fast-paced show on Tuesday night that included a late comeback, a two-hand dunk and a near-half court shot.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was the Nikes who walked away victorious, storming back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to win the game, 61-56.

The first half highlighted the speed and athleticism of both teams as the Tigers and Nikes traded fastbreak buckets early. Mason Porter got out to a great start for New London, scoring 14 first-half points. Ben Dentlinger added 12.

Notre Dame?s Xavior Williams kept the Nikes in the game in the first half. He had 15 points in the first two-quarters. It wasn?t enough to keep up with Porter and Dentlinger, however, as New London took a 37-29 lead into the break.

It looked like the Tigers were going to pull away in the third quarter. They worked the score up to double-digits, outscoring the Nikes, 17-13.

With New London leading by nine points and seconds ticking down in the third, Dentlinger chucked up a shot from just inside half court and found nothing but net to give the Tigers a 54-42 lead and a lot of momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

Williams and the Nikes wouldn?t go away, however. Notre Dame scored seven quick points in the first two minutes of the fourth, capped off by a big two-hand dunk from Williams that forced a Tiger timeout, with the score at 54-49.

Notre Dame kept up the pressure and soon took a 56-55 lead on another breakaway layup by Williams. On the other end, Jayden Flowers drew a foul and hit one free throw to tie the game at 55-55 with 2:25 left.

Seconds later, Williams converted on a layup in traffic plus a foul with 2:16 left. He missed the foul shot but New London still trailed, 57-55.

Dentlinger got fouled with 1:09 left and made one of two free throws to cut the lead to just one point. The Tigers had chances to take the lead or tie in the final minutes, but the Notre Dame defense forced turnovers and the Nikes hit enough free throws late to steal the five-point win.

Dentlinger finished the game with 20 points on 7-13 shooting and 2-5 from down town. Porter had 16 points and led the team with 10 rebounds and four steals.

Isaac McSorely scored seven points in the loss. Keontae Luckett had six points and six assists. Blake Nehring finished the game with four points and Flowers had three. Williams led Notre Dame with 27.

New London finished their regular season at 11-9 overall. They will play in the SEISC boys? shootout on Friday, Feb. 12, against a team to be announced soon.

The Tigers will travel to Lone Tree, on Thursday, Feb. 18, for their first round district game against Highland, which starts at 6:30 p.m.