Tigers roar in district semis

NEW LONDON - There was no stopping New London on Tuesday night. The Tigers took control of their district semifinal early and never let up, dumping Notre Dame 75-60 to avenge their only loss in the regular season, and move on to the district final.

Everything was going right early. New London scored the first 10 points of the game, eight of which came from Mason Porter. Notre Dame big man Riley Koenig picked up two early fouls, and the Nikes' backs were immediately against the wall.

The Nikes were able to cut the lead to 14-6 after the first quarter, b ut New London started the fourth on an 8-1 run. The Tigers led 22-7 before a pair of Notre Dame baskets cut the advantage back to 22-11 and called a timeout.

All the timeout did was reset the game for New London. The Tigers dominated inside in the second quarter, getting eight points from Darius Whaley in the period and five from Tyler Henecke, including a three-pointer at the buzzer. When the halftime buzzer rang, New London was in full control, up 35-15.

'The motivation was already there from the past game,” said Tiger coach Bryant Porter about the fast start. 'Revenge games are always something you don't have to get your team ready for. They were ready for it, and I could just see it in their eyes. They were ready to go.”

Notre Dame came out of the locker rooms hungry, and made a game of it for a while in the third quarter. The Nikes found some success with a full-court press and cut the lead down to 10 points in the third quarter, but a 10-spot from Porter in the third period helped New London lead 47-34 with eight minutes to go.

The Nikes had another mini-run in them in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers never let them get within single digits. New London held onto the lead and celebrated the big victory in front of a packed home crowd.

Porter finished the game with 29 points to lead the Tigers. Coach Porter said after the game that his son, and leading scorer, did exactly what was asked of him.

'I told him, ‘You haven't been that aggressive this year. You've got to get to the basket. That's what you do best,'” Cocah Porter said. 'He started doing that. He hit some long balls. He played solid defense all night long. He rebounded, and that's why he's perfect for our lineup. He does everything we ask him to do.”

Whaley and Grant Swanson put up 13 points apiece to give the Tigers three players in double-digits. Keontae Luckett scored eight points. Jalen Birdsell had eight, and Justin Henecke scored five.

Coach Porter credited part of the dominant win to injured senior Isaac McSorley, who is out for the season with a knee injury. He gave a pregame speech to the Tigers before they went out on the floor.

'I don't think it took me to say anything,” Coach Porter said. 'They knew they had to play for him the rest of the year. He had a few words for them in the locker room without us even being in there, and that's all it took for him to get those guys going. They know what he meant to the team, so to hear him talk was a great thing.”

New London can now turn their attention toward WACO, whom they will play Thursday, Feb. 21, in an all-Henry County district final. That game will be at Burlington High School and will have a start time of 7 p.m.

In the other side of the substate, Calamus-Wheatland scored a 64-56 win over Iowa Mennonite in one game, and Alburnett beat Springville 70-59 in the other. One of those teams will play either New London or WACO on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Iowa City. The winner of that game will be on to the state tournament.