New London player’s shot wins game 56-55

By Scott Bellile

A perfectly timed basket by New London sophomore Kyle Wolf landed the Bulldogs boys’ basketball team a Bay Conference victory at Menasha on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

Wolf nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give New London a 56-55 victory over the Bluejays.

With 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Bulldogs trailed 53-50. Senior Hunter Zaddack drove in a lay-up to close in 53-52.

Down by one point, the Bulldogs fouled to send the Bluejays to the line for a double bonus.

Menasha’s first free throw was no good, but the second went in.

With Menasha winning 54-52 and 5.8 seconds remaining, junior Devin Winkler sent the ball to Wolf. Wolf scored the three-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

“It was an awesome game, and I’m incredibly happy for the guys,” New London coach Kurt Schommer said. “They never gave up or thought about losing at all. It was all about the next possession and what we needed to do to get a victory.”

New London led 27-22 at the half.

“We started the game off with a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball, which led to a great, quick start for us,” Schommer said. “[Menasha] came back all the way and took the lead with about three minutes left in the game. We battled back with a couple free throws and quick buckets and ended up giving ourselves a chance to win it at the end, and we did.”

Schommer said Menasha is well coached with “nice young talent.”

“I’m surprised that they only have one win so far, but I know they’ll get theirs in time,” Schommer said.

The Bulldogs are 2-2 in conference play. They’ll take on Seymour next on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 7:15 p.m.

Scoring: Hunter Zaddack 13, Will Wohlt 10, Kyle Wolf 9, Brayden Kurth 8, Jacob Johnson 7, Devin Winkler 7, Tylan Brown 2.
Leading rebounders: Zaddack 11, Wohlt 10, Kurth 7.