WACO one game from state with win over New London

MEDIAPOLIS — In one of the most anticipated games of the season in Class 1A, the Tigers of New London and the Warriors of WACO did not disappoint.

The two schools have battled on the football field, and on the hardwood, it’s no different.

Both teams split in their regular season meetings, but this time around it was the Warriors coming away with the victory, 52-48, when it mattered most.

“It’s all on them,” Kissell said of the kids fight. “It has to do with good parents, strong community support and they put in a lot of time. They’re getting reward for the work they’ve put in.”

The matchup gave everything basketball fans everything they could want. It was a nail bitter down to the final whistle.

Heading into the fourth quarter the Warriors held a nine point advantage, 46-37, but New London wasn’t finished yet.

The Tigers brought the game to within two, 48-46, off a Devin Swanson deep ball, capping off a 9-2 run.

New London had multiple chances to tie the game, but the shots didn’t fall and the Warriors did what they needed to do to advance.

Swanson had a chance to tie the game after spinning through the lane and earning a tip to the line, but both were off the mark.

WACO’s Zach Schmitz found himself at the line for two, with a chance to make it a two possession game. Schmitz hit one of two, making it 49-46.

New London got the ball into guard Blaise Porter’s hands with a chance to tie, but his shot was wide left. Following a defense stop and a New London timeout, senior Camden Kasel got a clean look with just under 25 seconds on the clock, but the ball didn’t find the bottom of the net.

WACO forward Colton Leichty got to line, and connected on both to give the Warriors a 51-46 advantage.

Porter would get to the rim once more to bring it to within three, 51-48, but Hunter Hughes got free and hit one of two from the line with less than three ticks on the clock to seal the win.

“It was a great finish for our kids,” WACO head coach Paul Kissell said. “There wasn’t a lot of x’s and o’s there at the end it was just our kids playing basketball.”

The game was neck-and-neck throughout. The Warriors jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but then went stagnant, not scoring until the 2:11 mark. During that time the Tigers catapulted to an 14-8 lead with an 11-0 run, 10 from Swanson.

WACO was quick to answer back, bringing it back to a one point game, 16-15 with an 5-0 run to end the first.

In the second, New London held the lead throughout, but a three from the Warriors Simeon Reichenbach gave WACO its first lead since the first, 28-26, and the Tigers would never lead again.

“They didn’t gamble as much,” New London head coach Bryant Porter said. “They stayed disciplined and stayed at home. They forced us into some tough shots. Hats off to them.”

Reichenback’s three was part of a 10-0 spurt with teammate Mason Miller, which gave WACO a 32-26 lead at the half.

New London started strong yet again in the third, bringing the game to within one on three separate occasions, but the Warriors continued to dominate the quarters end. This time finishing with a 8-0 run, to make it a 46-37 game.

“It feels great,” Hughes said of the victory. “State has always been a goal of ours, and we’re one step closer.”

WACO had an balanced night in the scoring column, with Hughes and Leichty each finishing with 12. Simeon Reichenbach finished with nine. Chase Waterhouse finished with six. Mason Miller and Reece Oswald ended with five and Cody Graber added three.

New London was paced by Devin Swanson with 17. Blaise Porter added 11. Kade Benjamin finished with 10. Camden Kasel had eight and Kooper Schulte ended with two.

“It hurts right now,” Porter said. “Like I told the guys if you work your butt off you’ll get the result you want, well that’s not true. Sometimes you’ll work your butt off and you don't get the result you want. You just gotta learn from that. At the end of the day they came together as a team and hopefully they learn from this.”

The Tigers end their campaign with a 20-3 record. WACO (20-4) will take on Danville (22-3) for a spot in the state tournament on Feb. 26.