NL can't maintain hot start

NEW LONDON — Things were going well. But maybe too well, too soon, for the New London boys basketball team. Hosting Firelands Conference foe Ashland Crestview in a Division VI sectional title game Friday — a team it split with in the regular season — the Wildcats got out to a fast start. New London led 12-4 less than six minutes into the game but was unable to maintain any momentum from there. The Cougars went on to outscore the Wildcats by 23 points over the next 16:54 of game time and weren't threatened from there in the 53-41 win. The Wildcats close their turnaround season with a record of 13-9. "Our first quarter, I'll take that anytime," NL head coach Tom Howell said. "But I just think we struggled when we couldn't make shots consistently. We struggled putting the ball in the basket. "We had good looks, but we just didn't make them. And Crestview's athleticism gives everyone some trouble." Leading 6-3 in the early minutes, the 'Cats went on to score six of the next seven points on a short jumper and two free throws from Jarrett Mencl, then a basket inside by Jackson Mitchell made it 12-4 at the 2:17 mark of the first quarter. The Cougars (13-10) then answered with a 9-0 run to take a 13-12 lead with 4:52 left in the first half. The run was capped by consecutive scores from Daniel Wells. NL appeared to get back on track when Mencl put in back-to-back baskets for a 16-13 lead at the 3:21 mark, only for the Cougars to close the half on a 7-2 scoring advantage. The 'Cats were looking to potentially hold for a last shot, but instead it went the other way, and Crestview standout Karter Goon scored with 10.3 seconds left to give his team a 20-18 halftime lead. In the third quarter, it was all Cougars. Goon scored the first four points of the half, then Drew Spoerr swished in a 3 to make it 27-18 at the 6:17 mark of the third. Mencl answered with a 3 for NL on the next possession, only for Crestview's Kaden Kissel to do the same just 12 seconds later. Senior Brody Sword made it four straight 3s in the game to bring the 'Cats within 32-24, but that was the closest the home team was the rest of the way. Goon and Max Durbin each scored twice as the Cougars closed the quarter with nine of the last 13 points for a 41-28 lead. "The big thing that stands out is we stopped rebounding," said Howell, whose team held a 14-7 edge on the boards in the first quarter. "We were getting them left and right, it felt like, in that first quarter at both ends of the floor," he said. "But they came out in the second half with a different gear, and we didn't match it right away. It took more than a quarter to get there with them, and by then it was too late." Trailing 46-30 with under five minutes left, New London did score five straight points from Jaxson Schafer and Thomas to make it 46-35 with 2:29 remaining. The Wildcats cut it to 11 three other times but got no closer. "Down 16 points, I got it in my head to start trapping more," Howell said. "But they were still getting every loose ball and easy layups. I told my assistant coach (Zack) Parr that I didn't think we could press them. "We didn't have that fire in us, but it did work a little bit," he added. "Hindsight says we should have done it sooner, but we were trying to get a stop and score — but we just couldn't score when it came down to it." Schaffer finished with 10 points for New London, while Thomas had eight and Mitchell added six points and seven rebounds. From 2021 to 2025, New London finished just 10-101 overall and 5-65 in the FC before jumping to 13-9 overall and 7-7 in the FC this season. "We took a huge step, and I hope the kids see that it was," Howell said. "My expectation is we are right there again next year contending. "We will have three starters back who did a lot of things for us this year. It was good to see this year's team have some success, but we need to keep this going." CRESTVIEW (13-10) Daniel Wells 5-0—11; Max Durbin 2-2—7; Karter Goon 4-3—11; Carson Keener 1-0—3; Kaden Kissel 4-3—14; Drew Spoerr 3-0—7. TOTALS 19-8—53. NEW LONDON (13-9) Henry Thomas 4-0—8; Jackson Mitchell 3-0—6; Jaxson Schaffer 4-2—10; Brody Sword 1-0—3; Jarrett Mencl 5-2—13. TOTALS 17-4—41. Crestview 6 19 21 12 — 53 N. London 12 6 10 13 — 41 Three-point FGs: (CV) Kissel 3, Wells, Durbin, Keener, Spoerr; (NL) Mencl, Sword.