Two days after winning an exciting semifinal over top-seeded Glasgow in double overtime, the fifth-seeded New Franklin boys gave a lackluster performance in a 48-43 loss to third-seeded Westran for the Glasgow Tournament title on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs struggled from the tipoff, making just three field goals and shooting 1-for-2 from the line in the first quarter. New Franklin trailed by as much as five before finishing the opening period back 11-8 in what turned out to be a low-scoring, defensive showdown.

“It was two totally different games offensively for us,” said New Franklin coach Cory Nicholson. “Against Glasgow, we looked at our best. Tonight, it was our worst. We took a lot of bad shots and forced a lot of stuff.”

Still, making it to the championship game amid such a deep field was an accomplishment for the team in Nicholson’s first season as head coach.

“It’s a very competitive tournament. There are a lot of good teams and coaches here. You have to be pretty proud of where we are, especially after what we were seated fifth coming into it with the gauntlet of playing Glasgow in the second round,” Nicholson said. “I’m really proud of this group.”

New Franklin trailed by as much as 11 points before going into the mid-game break behind nine, 26-27. The Bulldogs were able to encroach on Westran’s lead by one point in the third, but ultimately could not overcome the Hornets’ stingy defense.

The Bulldogs mounted a comeback late in the fourth quarter, pulling to within four points during a 9-3 run in the bottom half of the period. Westran was able to ice the game from the free-throw line, sinking three of six in the final 1:09 to stay just enough in front.

Nicholson said the game plan was to spread the floor against the long, athletic Hornet defense. “We know they like to switch a lot of their screens. They’re a pretty athletic and big team. We tried to spread them out a little bit and feed our shooters. We ended up taking some not-so-great looks, and that really hurt us. We forced a lot. We’d get into the paint, but then not throw up a competitive shot. That’s where we went wrong in our game plan.”

Senior Caden Schlotzhauer led the Bulldogs with 15 points, including a 3-pointer, and went 6-for-11 from the line. Lane Hackman and Landon Shaw each finished with seven. Jonah Bishop and Elyas Brown each posted six points. Noah Hackman rounded out the scoring with two points.

Bishop sank two of the team’s three 3-pointers on a night when even open looks simply weren’t falling.

For Westran, Cruze Haynes led a well-rounded team effort with a game-high 16 points. Hayden Chapman added nine points, with eight each from Jackson Land and Hampton Summers off the bench.

New Franklin, now 4-1 overall with a runner-up trophy, was set to travel to Fayette for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday after the Advertiser had gone to press. On Friday, the Bulldogs play their only home game of the fall semester. They host Madison (0-4) for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff and travel to Slater next Tuesday. New Franklin closes out 2025 with a matchup against Meadville on Dec. 19 at the 12 Courts of Christmas at HyVee Arena in Kansas City. They return home to open 2026 with the 97th staging of the New Franklin Tournament starting on Jan. 5.