No. 4 New London outlasts WACO

NEW LONDON -- The WACO boys didn't make it easy on No. 4 New London on Tuesday night, but the Tigers buckled down and hung on for a 10-point win. New London stayed unbeaten with a 73-63 victory, their eighth win in eight tries.

The first half was frenetic, with both teams running the court well for easy buckets, but the Tigers were able to drain a handful of shots from outside to grab an early lead. New London's Isaac McSorley had a particularly fast start, scoring eight points in the first quarter. Drew Kissell had seven points in the first period for WACO, but New London held a 21-15 lead after one.

The second quarter was the hightest scoring period of the day. Kissell stayed hot, dropping seven more points to finish the half with 14. New London had six different scorers in the period, including Mason Porter, who had seven points in the second, and 12 points total at halftime. McSorley led New London with 13 points at the break, and New London held a 42-33 halftime advantage.

The Tigers continued to stretch their lead in the third quarter. WACO scored a game-low nine points in the period and the Tigers took a 56-42 lead into the fourth.

The Warriors didn't go away easily. WACO began to come back in the beginning of the fourth quarter, taking the lead down to single digits. New London made its free throws down the stretch, however, and closed the game out. Porter had eight points in the fourth quarter to lead the way.

'I think we just willed it out,” said Tiger coach Bryant Porter after the game. 'WACO played a really tough game, but for the most part, we didn't play our game or excecute.”

Porter led the Tigers with 22 points. McSorley finished with 15. Grant Swanson had 13 points. Keontae Luckett had 12. Darius Whaley scored eight, and Jalen Birdsell ended the night with three.

WACO was led by Kissell, who scored 23 points on 9-16 shooting. Nik Coble had a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Matthew Leichty scored 11 and Braden Hammond finished with 10. Colton Horak had five points and 10 assists, and Gabe Reichenbach scored two.

'(New London) hit those threes early in the game that gave them a comfort level,” said WACO head coach Paul Kissell after the game. 'They were able to play relaxed and we were unable to make them uncomfortable. I felt we did really well on the boards and limited some of their opportunities. Our kids' effort is never a question, we just didn't make our shots early and unfortunately, that was the difference in the game.”

New London moved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in SEISC South Division play after Tuesday night. They dominated a tough Highland team 67-45 in Monday night's SEISC cross-over. The Tigers will look to stay unbeaten at West Burlington on Friday, Dec. 21.

WACO fell to 6-3 on the year, and 3-3 in the South. They'll host Notre Dame in another big South Divsion game on Thursday, Dec. 20.