10 Best: New London at WACO
WAYLAND — The #7 team in Class 1A survived a scare on Friday night, as WACO held off a young but talented New London team, winning 55-53 to remain undefeated, improving to 9-0. The Warriors started off with a bang,…
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Continue ReadingWAYLAND — The #7 team in Class 1A survived a scare on Friday night, as WACO held off a young but talented New London team, winning 55-53 to remain undefeated, improving to 9-0.
The Warriors started off with a bang, jumping out to a 14-2 lead before New London knew what had hit them. The Tigers used a 9-0 run to climb back within 3, and WACO answered with a 12-0 run of their own, pushing the lead back out to 26-11 with 6:00 to play before the half. The Warriors went cold, scoring just two points the rest of the half, and took a 9-point lead into the locker rooms.
The intensity picked up on both ends in the second half, with a scrappy Tigers group clawing their way back to within a bucket on multiple occasions, but they were never able to string together enough stops or score a crucial bucket to tie it or take the lead late. Trailing 55-52, New London freshman Kade Benjamin was fouled with 2.0 to play, meaning he’d need to make the first, intentionally miss the second and hope for a miracle. He made the first, but threw his second attempt straight off the backboard (needs to touch the rim), and WACO got the ball back. Game over.
WACO (9-0) was led by Drew Kissell, who had 18 points in the win. Pietro Vannini chipped in 10 off the bench, and Braden Hammond had 10.
New London (3-3) was led by freshman Blaise Porter, who was outstanding in defeat, scoring a game-high 20 points. Demontae Watkins added 11 and fellow freshman Kade Benjamin had 10.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
New London | 11 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 53 |
WACO | 18 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 55 |
New London: Blaise Porter 20, Demontae Watkins 11, Kade Benjamin 10, Grant Swanson 6, Markel Luckett 4, Devin Swanson 2
WACO: Drew Kissell 18, Pietro Vannini 11, Braden Hammond 10, Nik Coble 9, Gabe Reichenbach 5, Elijah McGohan 2
MVP: Drew Kissell (WACO)
Kissell was key for the Warriors, getting them out to the hot start by scoring 9 first quarter points. He also made a key 3 in the fourth quarter to push WACO’s lead back to two possessions. The 6-1 senior guard finished with 18 points on 6-11 shooting. He built the Warriors’ lead that they never gave away, and he helped ice the game with his corner 3.
Best offensive performance: Blaise Porter (New London)
Best shooter: Porter (New London)
Best underclassman: Porter (New London)
With Porter and fellow freshman Kade Benjamin, the future is bright in New London. The 6-0 freshman guard is incredibly quick with the ball in his hands, changes directions in the blink of an eye, and has the ability to score from all three levels with ease. He showcased a nice looking jumper off the dribble, and he has good footwork, including a variety of different jab steps that he used to get the defender leaning before going the opposite direction quickly for a pull-up jumper. Porter finished with 20 points on 6-11 shooting (2-5 3P), and he used that jumper to help open up the rest of his game, using his quickness to get to the rim for buckets. He has an incredibly bright future, and will be one of the best players in the 2023 class throughout his high school career.
Best bench player: Pietro Vannini (WACO)
A foreign exchange student from Italy, Vannini has been a welcome addition to the Warriors’ rotation, providing scoring off the bench. He’s a confident shooter with the ability to create his own shot, and he’s also a talented playmaker who sees the floor well and sets up his teammates. He finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Best rebounder: Nik Coble (WACO)
Best passer: Coble (WACO)
The 6-5 forward has seen his scoring numbers dip this season, but he’s still been very productive for the Warriors. He had 9 points in this one, but was the best rebounder on the floor, and he’s the type of player who you can still run the offense through due to his passing ability. At 6-5, he’s bigger than most players on the floor in a 1A game, and he sees the floor really well, and makes good, crisp passes to the shooting pockets of his teammates. He dished out 4 assists, primarily playing from the high post, and finished with 7 rebounds.
Best defensive performance: Demontae Watkins (New London)
The glue guy: Watkins (New London)
Watkins’ job was to take Coble out of the game by face-guarding him full court, and he did an admirable job in doing so. The 6-3 senior is quick and athletic, and he was able to stay in front of Coble a majority of the time. WACO fans didn’t like the way he was guarding Coble, but in my eyes, it was largely clean. He wasn’t holding him, he’s just quick enough to stay in front of him with his arms out. When he did hold, he was called for fouls. He did a nice job taking Coble out of his rhythm and never letting him get settled on the block. In addition to his defensive work, he chipped in 11 points, knocking down a trio of key 3s for the Tigers.
Best shot blocker: Kade Benjamin (New London)
The other key freshman for the Tigers, Benjamin, a 6-5 forward, had an up-and-down game, but turned away three shots and is going to be a big-time shot blocker as he continues to grow and learn how to play better defense (positioning, not taking so many risks leading to foul trouble, etc). He’s got a chance to be really good on both ends of the floor.