Tigers storm back to victory

NEW LONDON - It didn't look like No. 7 New London's night through three quarters of their SEISC South Division bout with No. 10 Notre Dame on Tuesday night but a 26-10 fourth quarter run flipped the game on its head and the Tigers scored a comeback victory to take control of the South.

Notre Dame led almost the entire game in the battle of unbeatens, but a huge New London run was highlighted by a go-ahead three-pointer from Keontae Luckett with just over two minutes remaining, which gave the Tigers the last lead change of the night.

Notre Dame, the defending South Division champion, was on fire in the first half, hittting shot after shot. The Nikes led 19-16 after the first quarter and 42-34 at the half, despite 11 points from Grant Swanson and 10 from Isaac McSorley in the first two quarters.

'I don't think Notre Dame could have had a better shooting first half,” said Tiger head coach Bryant Porter. 'They made everything.”

It looked like the game might get out of hand in the third quarter, as Notre Dame built their lead to double-digits, but New London's senior point guard took over when the Tigers' backs were against the wall.

Luckett scored nine points in the third quarter to keep the Tigers in the game and erase all thoughts of a Nike runaway. Mason Porter, who was held scoreless in the first half, also got things going with his first four points of the game. When the third quarter was done, Notre Dame's lead was at 57-49.

When the fourth quarter hit, the Tigers' stars played their best. Four players; Luckett, Porter, McSorley and Grant Swanson, combined for 26 points in the final eight minutes to steal the win right out of Notre Dame's finger tips.

New London's defense stepped up when it mattered most and created a handful of turnovers that led to New London points. McSorley cut the lead to one point with a three from the corner, and when the Tigers got the ball back, Luckett sank a three from the wing that gave New London a 65-63 lead with a little over two minutes showing on the clock.

New London forced a turnover and Swanson led the fast break the other way, laying the ball up to put the Tigers up by four. New London closed it out with free throws, six of which came from Porter, and built the lead all the way up to 10 points before the Nikes closed the game with a layup.

'This is huge, because they are the champions until we take it from them,” Coach Porter said after the win. 'This was a huge game for us. We played ourselves out of a hole, and I feel like we're in the driver's seat now.”

Luckett finished the night with 18 points, over 10 points more than his season average coming in. He scored 16 of those points in the second half.

'Keo is one of those guys that defers a lot,” Coach Porter said about his point guard. 'People don't realize that kid can score just as well as anyone on our team.”

Swanson finished the night with 16 points. McSorley had 15, and Porter finished with 13 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter and all of which came in the second half.

Darius Whaley had eight points in the win, all coming in the first half. Tyler Henecke finished the night with three points and Jalen Birdsell had two.

The first-place Tigers are now 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the South Division. They'll look to stay unbeaten on Friday, Dec. 14, when they hit the road to face Van Buren. That game will be held at Harmony High School in Farmington.