Mustangs survive Comets’ late rally

By Greg Seubert

Little Chute’s Noah Mueller tries to get his hand on the ball while defending Waupaca’s Brandon Wanty. Greg Seubert Photo

There was a time when things didn’t look so good for the Waupaca boys’ basketball team in its rematch with Little Chute.

The Mustangs had opened the second half with an 11-4 run Feb. 4 to take their biggest lead – 40-25 – on the Comets.

Waupaca responded by outscoring the Mustangs 21-7 the rest of the way, but still came out on the short end of a 47-46 score in Little Chute.

Neither team had the hot hand early, as the game stayed scoreless until Parker Gloudemans gave the Mustangs a lead 4:13 into the game.

It wasn’t long before the Mustangs found their groove offensively, however, as they hit 12 of 13 shots at one point and took a 29-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Noah Knudsen’s three-pointer gave the Mustangs a 40-25 lead midway through the second half, but Little Chute hit only three more shots the rest of the way.

Tony Blackwell’s basket with 2:12 remaining cut the Mustangs’ lead to 47-46, but those turned out to be the game’s final points.

Waupaca had three opportunities to take the lead down the stretch and Ryan Dayton’s shot with three seconds remaining bounced off the front of the rim.

Blackwell led the Comets with 17 points, while Dayton and Michael Johnson added nine each and Logan Bunge chipped in with eight.
Gloudemans led the Mustangs with 12.

Waupaca fell to 4-9 in North Eastern Conference play and 5-11 overall with the loss, while Little Chute improved to 7-5 in the conference and 8-8 overall.