WACO boys lose to New London

NEW LONDON ? It was an uphill battle for a young WACO basketball team in Thursday night?s district quarterfinal against New London.

The Tigers were at home and had a major boost with senior post Ben Dentlinger back with the team, and despite still not being 100 percent healthy, New London looked as sharp as ever, knocking out WACO, 79-45.

Dentlinger?s return was noticed early and often, as he led New London to a 24-4 first quarter advantage behind 13 points, including a dunk.

The Warriors settled down in a high-scoring second quarter to cut the lead down to 19 points, but New London still had a bid advantage, leading 47-28 at halftime.

Dentlinger had 23 points at halftime. Freshman Drew Kissell, who was battling a cold, was big early for WACO with eight points.

New London busted the game open in the second half. A speedy Tiger team picked up the tempo and began to pull away with a series of fast break points.

?We just took care of the ball there in the second quarter, and then we attacked them,? said WACO coach Paul Kissell after the game.

?We just kept looking to attack and drive at them. We got the calls there in the second quarter and then we got tentative coming out of halftime.?

The Tigers outscored the Warriors, 32-17, in the final two quarters, ending WACO?s season and bumping New London to the district semifinals.

?We just tried to get back to the way we play,? said New London coach Bryant Porter about the win.

?We kind of lost that toward the end of the year. We just tried to get back to the hyper speed play that we like to have.?

For the Warriors, it was Kissell who led the way with 12 points. Nik Coble added 10 to give WACO two freshman in double-digits.

Jacob Fried added eight points in the loss. Colton Horak had six. Matthew Leichty scored five and Conner Eichelberger had four.

It was a much better offensive game for the Warriors, compared to the previous two meetings with New London.

WACO scored just 47 points combined in the two regular-season matchups.

New London moved on to play Notre Dame, who scored a tight victory over Holy Trinity before the Tigers and Warriors tipped off.

That game will take place in Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m.

Danville and Keota will lead things off at 6:30 p.m., with the two winners battling for the district title in Burlington Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.