Boys basketball: NLS undone by Hutch free throws

NEW LONDON — In a game that featured 42 foul calls, Hutchinson made the most of its freebies and downed New London-Spicer 76-70 in a Wright County Conference game on Thursday.
Leading by just one point at the time, the Tigers made 15 straight free throws during the final 4:42 to keep the Wildcats at arm’s length. Hutch hit 15 of 16 foul shots in the final three minutes of the game.
In contrast, NLS hit just 7 of 14 free throws during that same span of time.
NLS’ Aaron Ruter scored a team-high 14 points and he had 4 assists and 4 steals.
NLS had four others score in double figures — Trent Boie with 11 points, Ryan Vraa, Brett Olson and Shane Zylstra all with 10 — and Joey Dreier had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Shaun Schindler and Alex Aalfs led the Tigers with 18 points apiece.
NLS plays next at Morris/Chokio-Alberta at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Hutchinson 76, NLS 70
Hutchinson (6-8 10-13) 33 43 — 76
NLS (6-7 11-13) 26 44 — 70
HUTCHINSON – 25-51 FG (6-15 3-pt); 20-27 FT; 28 rebounds; 22 fouls … Scoring: Shaun Schindler 18, Alex Aalfs 18, Alec Nassirzadeh 13, McKinley Anderson 11, Riley Steenhoek 8, Jayden Juergensen 4, Josiah Rolf 2, Marcus Hahn 2 … 3-point shots: Aalfs 3, Nassirzadeh 2, Anderson 1 … Rebound leaders: Anderson 8, Schindler 7 … Assist leaders: Rolf 4, Juergensen 4 … Steal leaders: Schindler 3
NEW LONDON-SPICER – 25-59 FG (2-10 3-pt); 18-30 FT; 32 rebounds; 20 fouls … Scoring: Aaron Ruter 14, Trent Boie 11, Ryan Vraa 10, Brett Olson 10, Shane Zylstra 10, Joey Dreier 9, Nick LaPatka 6 … 3-point shots: Ruter 2 … Rebound leaders: Dreier 9, Olson 6, Zylstra 6 … Assist leaders: Dreier 5, Ruter 4 … Steal leaders: Ruter 4