Boys Basketball Final: New Richmond 74, Wilmington 62

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WILMINGTON — New Richmond withstood a frantic fourth quarter comeback Friday night, holding off Wilmington 74-62 at Fred Summers Court.

New Richmond improves to 11-5 overall and 5-2 in the SBC American Division with its seventh straight win. Wilmington, which has lost 5 of its last 6, falls to 7-7 overall and 2-5 in the division.

It was not as easy for the Lions as the 80-54 victory over the Hurricane on Dec. 17.

New Richmond looked to be pulling away in the third quarter, pushing its lead to 15, 52-37, with 1:00 remaining.

Wilmington caught fire, going on a 15-3 run that carried over into the fourth quarter. Baskets by Collin Barker, Cole Bernhardt and Luke Blessing spurred the run, with a Mikey Brown Jr. free throw ending it. The Hurricane trailed 55-52 with 4:46 remaining.

“We changed our offensive game plan, and that gave us better looks,” WHS head coach Jermaine Isaac said. “But honestly, it was our guys’ mentality … just keep swinging and keep chipping away.”

Blessing kept answering New Richmond’s attempts to pull away. Blessing hit a three and a pair of free throws to keep Wilmington within three, 60-57, with 3:20 remaining.

The Lions finally were able to pull away with a quick 6-0 run to push their lead to nine with 2:15 left.

Blessing led Wilmington with 22 points and five rebounds. Bernhardt had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Barker had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

“Our kids have freaking heart,” Isaac said. “I think it comes from that love for one another. They play hard for each other.”

Justin Ackerman led New Richmond with 27 points and 10 rebounds, including a 55-foot jumper at the first half buzzer. Tyler Sininger overcame foul trouble to finish with 21 points.

“Kudos to New Richmond – those guys can play,” Isaac said. “They’re one of the top teams in our league with how they play together and how unselfish they are and how deep they are. Those kids didn’t get rattled. They were able to focus when they needed it most.”

It was a raucous environment at Fred Summers Court, which made things difficult down the stretch for the visiting Lions. Isaac appreciated the support from the Hurricane faithful and credited them for helping with the late comeback.

“It was a hostile environment for them,” Isaac said. “Our band was here too, which was great to see. It was a great environment for us and our kids. Cane pride is definitely well and alive.”

SUMMARY

Friday, Jan. 28, 2022

At Fred Summers Court

New Richmond 74, Wilmington 62

NR…19.20.13.22…74

W…17.9.13.23…62

(74) NEW RICHMOND (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Bo Snider 2-0-0-4, Tyler Sininger 7-1-6-21, Adam Ernst 1-0-2-4, Roman Carmosino 1-0-1-3, Danny Shockley 3-0-0-6, Luke Abbott 4-1-0-9, Justin Ackerman 10-1-6-27. TOTALS 28-3-15-74.

(62) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Luke Blessing 8-4-2-22, Mikey Brown Jr. 2-0-2-6, Kellen Baltazar 1-1-3-6, Cole Bernhardt 6-0-0-12, Collin Barker 5-0-2-12, Shane Griffith 1-1-1-4. TOTALS 23-6-10-62.

FIELD GOALS: NR 28/51 (Ackerman 10/13, Sininger 7/13, Abbott 4/9); W 23/60 (Blessing 818, Bernhardt 6/9, Barker 5/11)

3 POINT FIELD GOALS: NR 3/12; W 6/23 (Blessing 4/9)

FREE THROWS: NR 15/30 (Ackerman 6/11, Sininger 6/10); W 10/15 (Baltazar 3/4)

REBOUNDS: NR 32 (Ackerman 10, Abbott 9, Shockley 4); W 40 (Barker 13, Bernhardt 9, Blessing 5)

ASSISTS: NR 12 (Shockley 3); W 10 (Baltazar 4)

STEALS: NR 12 (Shockley 5, Sininger 3); W 6 (Baltazar 3)

BLOCKED SHOTS: NR 1 (Ackerman 1); W 3 (Blessing 1, Bernhardt 1, Barker 1)

TURNOVERS: NR 10; W 17

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By Matt Sexton

WNJ Sports Writer

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