The New Franklin Bulldogs improved to 3-0 on the season after defeating Glasgow 75-51 in a physical round 1 game of the Glasgow Tournament on Monday night. 

New Franklin, seeded fourth, will now face top-seeded Westran on Wednesday in the semifinal round.

New Franklin senior Clayton Wilmsmeyer and junior Connor Wilmsmeyer combined for 36 points on the night. Clayton finished with a game-high 22 points with 14 for Connor. Together, the two racked up 16 of the Bulldogs’ 25 first-quarter points to push New Franklin in front, 25-17, after eight minutes. 

The Bulldogs’ high-tempo, physical game frustrated Glasgow all night on the floor. “Overall, I was really happy with the pace we played. I think that was conducive to us getting a win tonight and the boys executed,” said New Franklin coach Jim Schlotzhauer. “We gave up a few too many layups in transition in the first half, but other than that I was very happy with how we played.

“The boys have worked hard in the weight room and are an athletic bunch. They prefer to get up and down and to play more physically than teams we’ve had in the past. Hopefully, that is a positive thing as the season moves along, but we have found ourselves in some sort of foul trouble all three games this year, so we need to adjust depending on how the game is being called.”

New Franklin expanded its lead to 10 points by halftime. But it was the third quarter that separated the fourth seed from the fifth seed. Six New Franklin players combined for 21 points and held Glasgow to just five points to all but seal the win. 

The Yellowjackets won the fourth quarter 14-9 but could not erase the double-digit deficit. 

“I thought it was going to be tough. They’re a veteran team,” said Glasgow coach Mick Cropp. “Although they’re kind of young, they’ve had a lot of guys play a lot of minutes. And we lost eight seniors last year.”

Glasgow was led by junior Jordan Fuemmeler with 17 points on the night. This is his first year in a Yellowjacket uniform after scoring more than 1,000 points over his freshman and sophomore seasons as a Higbee Tiger.

“He looked a little more comfortable tonight, especially down toward the end,” Cropp said. “He did a nice job, hit some threes, and made some nice shots around the basket. He always plays hard. It was good to see him have a nice game.”

Fuemmeler scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. Coach Schlotzhauer said the goal was to smother him. “Clayton got the assignment and was pretty effective on him. We sent him to the line too many times in the first half to allow Glasgow to stay in the game. If we could clean that up, that would really help us get more stops and get out and run.” 

Edris Hamilton finished the night with 15 points after sitting on the bench early with three first-half fouls. The senior finished 5-for-8 from the free-throw line.

“Edris got those three fouls, and I think it really disappointed him,” Cropp said. “He wants to do so well for the team and takes that upon himself. I know he’s going to be ready Wednesday night.”

For New Franklin, junior Drake Clark followed the Wilmsmeyers with 10 points on the night, eight of which were scored in the third quarter. Senior Owen Armentrout added nine points, followed by junior Tanner Bishop with seven. Senior Jake Marshall and junior Owen Curry each finished with five points for the Bulldogs.

Glasgow drops to the consolation side of the bracket to face eighth-seeded La Plata at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner will play for the consolation trophy at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

Cropp said he expects a quick, scrappy La Plata team. “We’ll have a game on our hands.”

New Franklin moves on to face first-seeded Westran at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Hornets entered the tournament 3-0 with lopsided wins over Novinger and Brookfield and a 10-point win over South Shelby. On Monday, they eased past eighth-seeded La Plata 60-28 on 18-point nights by seniors Ashden Dale and Langden Kitchen.

“Wednesday night will be a battle, I think,” Schlotzhauer said. “Kitchen is probably the hardest matchup in the area and I really like the way Chris Sander coaches. I think both teams will be well prepared and it will be a good one to be in the seats for.”