Boys basketball: Wildcats tame Braves
NEW LONDON — New London-Spicer eased into the second round of the Section 6AA-South Sub-Section playoffs with a 67-57 win over Benson on Thursday.
The Wildcats improved to 13-14 and will play a rematch with former West Central Conference rival Morris/Chokio-Albert, which defeated St. John’s Prep 62-36 on Thursday.
The Wildcats and Tigers play at 7 p.m. Saturday at St. John’s University.
The Wildcats pulled out to a lead early and never let it slip, despite not playing their best game, said NLS head coach Chad Schmiesing.
“We had a nice lead but we did not play as well as we hoped,” Schmiesing said. “We were kind of slow out of the blocks.”
The Wildcats expanded their lead to 62-37 with about seven minutes left.
Shane Zylstra led NLS with 11 points and Brett Olson had 10. Trent Boie finished with 7 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.
Aaron Ruter played a solid game, with 6 points, 10 assists and a pair of steals.
Colin Ose led the Braves with 16 points, Zach Jensen scored 11 points and Dan Lee finished with 10.
Benson star Matt Ahrndt, who suffered a knee injury and didn’t play the last five games of his senior season, entered the game in the final seconds of the game and hit a long 3-pointer in his final prep game.
NLS 67, Benson 57
Benson (9-18) 20 37 — 57
NLS (13-14) 29 38 — 67
BENSON – 21-49 FG (6-20 3-pt); 9-21 FT; 36 rebounds; 8 fouls … Scoring: Colin Ose 16, Zach Jensen 11, Dan Lee 10, Aaron Ahrndt 6, Jacob Goff 5, Tyler Krienke 4, Matt Ahrndt 3, Christian Larson 2 … 3-point shots: M.Ahrndt 1, A.Ahrndt 2, Lee 2, Krienke 1 … Rebound leaders: Goff 11, Jensen 8 … Assist leaders: Ose 2, Lee 2 … Steal leaders: Zach Mauer 2
NEW LONDON-SPICER – 25-63 FG (9-23 3-pt); 8-13 FT; 36 rebounds; 17 fouls … Scoring: Shane Zylstra 11, Brett Olson 10, Joey Dreier 9, Trent Boie 7, Adam Essler 6, Aaron Ruter 6, Tyson Gislason 6, Nick LaPatka 4, Reid Johnson 3, Ryan Vraa 3, Bradyn Ommodt 2 … 3-point shots: Essler 2, Olson 2, Ruter 2, Dreier 1, Vraa 1 … Rebound leaders: Boie 9, Zylstra 5, Dreier 5 … Assist leaders: Ruter 10 … Steal leaders: Ruter 2, Dreier 2, Vraa 2