Tigers top Panthers

It was a showdown of epic proportions on Monday night in Mt. Pleasant. The undefeated and fourth-ranked New London Tigers traveled eight miles west to play Mt. Pleasant, and New London proved its worth and stayed unbeaten with a 76-63 win.

It was Mt. Pleasant that looked strong early. Tucker Johnson was taking the ball to the hole strong, which netted him eight first quarter points and helped put New London's Isaac McSorley in early foul trouble. Johnson's fast start led the Panthers to a 14-12 lead after eight minutes.

'That was nice, and he actually did that against Camanche,” Mt. Pleasant coach Caleb Akey said about Johnson's fast start. 'He came out hot like that. It was nice to see him continue to play like that, and that's something we need from him, and all of our guys.”

Unfortunately for Mt. Pleasant, leading scorer Sam Beatty picked up two fouls of his own in the first period, and that opened up the inside for the Tigers in what would be a telling second quarter.

McSorley subbed back in to the contest in the second quarter, and he made the most of his time in the game. The senior guard knocked down eight points in the second quarter. Six different Tigers scored in the second period, and New London bursted out to a 34-27 lead.

Johnson led all scorers at the half with nine points, but New London's depth showed through the first two periods. Mason Porter had eight points at the break to co-lead the Tigers with McSorley.

McSorley stayed away from his third foul in the second quarter, but Tiger point guard Keontae Luckett picked up his second and third fouls before halftime, so New London once again had to play shorthanded, but the Tigers didn't flinch, taking the third quarter 20-17 to take a 54-44 lead into the fourth.

'You can't really pick one guy,” New London coach Bryant Porter said about his team's ability to step up. 'I mean, you can pick your poison. If you try and isolate one guy, the other four or five will get you.”

Mason Porter had nine points in the third quarter to pace the Tigers in the third period. Mt. Pleasant was led by Keegan Kohorst, who put up 10 points in the third quarter to keep the Panthers in the game.

The Panthers played almost a full quarter without Beatty again after a couple more fouls in the third. With him on the bench, Mt. Pleasant's inside scoring effort continued to take a big hit.

'That hurt,” Coach Akey saidl 'We're just not acccustomed to play without him. We knew that day was going to come, I wish it wouldn't have been tonight, but we had to adjust. Without him there, it was pretty tough.”

It was all hands on deck for Mt. Pleasant in the fourth quarter. The full lineup was back in the game and the Panthers put on an aggressive full court press, but a big spark from the bench helped the Tigers keep their feet on the gas peddle.

Jalen Birdsell came in and scored a quick eight points, which helped New London run out to a 69-51 lead, their biggest of the ballgame. Another big quarter from Kohorst helped the Panthers get the score down to 11 points, at 70-59, but they could never get the lead back down to double digits.

'It was just a fun game for us,” Coach Porter said after the win. 'We're always looking to play bigger schools when the opportunity presents itself. Obviously, I have the team do do that this year. But it was a fun game. I know all the players, it was fun to see all the parents again, and it was just fun.”

Porter finished the night with 2 points on 8-12 shooting the ball. He also led the team with three blocks on the night. McSorley had 17 points and four steals.

Birdsell had 12 points off the bench for New London. Swanson had 11. Darius Whaley scored eight. Luckett had four points and seven assists, and Tyler Henecke had two points.

Kohorst scored 23 points on 7-15 shooting for Mt. Pleasant. Johnson finished the night with 14 points and two assists. Rhett Zeglen scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Beatty and Jaxon Hoyle each scored seven points, and Clayton Lowery had two.

'They're a very good basketball team,” said Coach Akey about the Tigers. 'They're well coached and their kids know the game really well. They're as good as anybody we've played, and I'm going to guess as good as anyone we're going to play.” New London is now 13-0 on the year. They'll try and stay unbeaten tonight (Tuesday) against Holy Trinity. Mt. Pleasant fell to 6-7 overall and will play next on Friday, Jan. 18, against Keokuk.