Warriors stave off Tigers

WAYLAND — The fourth-ranked WACO Warriors hosted New London in another marquee boys basketball clash on Monday night, and once again it lived up to the billing.

In what was the third WACO-New London game of the past three years to be decided by four points or less, the Warriors held off a hungry Tiger team, staying unbeaten with a 68-64 victory.

“These are the games we want,” said WACO head coach Paul Kissell. “You want competitive matchups against good teams, and New London is a good team.”

New London never let WACO relax. The Warriors held a 19-15 lead after one quarter, but the Tigers stayed right on their heels.

WACO’s Oleh Shtefanchuck had a big second quarter to lead the Warriors with 10 at the break. Kade Benjamin had nine at the break, and nearly tied the game with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer, but the shot waved off.

WACO had a hot start to the third quarter, but New London started to find its groove. The Tigers, who had trouble with the Warriors’ press earlier in the game, began to claw back.

“They were playing eight to 11 guys, and we were playing five and six,” said New London head coach Bryant Porter. “But I felt like we adjusted to it, and they kind of came out of it.”

Blaise Porter gave the Tigers a short-lived one-point lead with a layup in the third quarter, but the Warriors continued took it right back and never let it go again.

New London, however, did tie the game up before the fourth quarter. The two teams were deadlocked after three, tied 45-45 with eight minutes left.

In the fourth quarter, WACO guards Simeon Reichenbach and Hunter Hughes brought the team home. Reichenbach had 12 points in the second half. Hughes had 10 in the final two quarters, including some big shots down the stretch, shots that had a packed house on its feet.

“It always feels good to have this community behind your back,” Hughes said. “It’s a great feeling.”

The Warriors struggled down the stretch to make free throws, which helped New London get the game back within three points, but Reichenbach made one of two with just eight ticks remaining to push the lead to four.

“We needed to hit some free throws in the end,” Hughes said. “But when we couldn’t, we just needed to play some solid defense.”

Reichenbach scored 19 points on the day. Shtefanchuk finished with 16. Hughes had 14. Colton Leichty scored 11, and both Isaac Oswald and Chase Waterhouse finished with four.

Blaise Porter scored 25 points to lead the Tigers. Benjamin had 16. Brendan Richey scored 11. Leo Gebauer had 10, and Bringham Porter finished with two.

WACO moved to 11-0 with the win. New London is now 7-4. The two teams aren’t scheduled to play again this season, but with the postseason coming up next month, both are aware this might not be their last battle.

“These are the teams we need to play to get us to that elite level,” Kissell said. “It could be another matchup again in the district tournament.”

Coach Porter echoed that thought.

“When the time comes, we’ll be ready.”