The WACO Warriors suffered a postseason basketball upset Friday night when they fell 61-60 at home to New London in the Class 1A District 7 semifinals. WACO trailed 20-14 at the end of the first quarter but cut the deficit down to two at halftime. Despite trailing most of the night, the Warriors had a four-point lead with less than 30 seconds to play. But New London seniors Kade Benjamin and Blaise Porter combined to put up five unanswered points, including a basket with four seconds to go to ultimately give the Tigers the win and end fifth-ranked WACO’s season.
Benjamin scored a game-high 22 points, while Porter poured in 21. Warriors junior Colton Leichty hit four three-pointers and led the team with 17 points. Junior guard Hunter Hughes finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while senior Simeon Reichenbach posted 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. WACO finishes the season with a record of 21-2. Along with Reichenbach, the Warriors will be losing graduating seniors Ty Egil, Kohl Hildebrand, Isaac Oswald, Mason Miller, Odee Shtefanchuk, Cody Graber and Jesse Krabill.