The first three quarters of the boys’ championship game of the 93rd Annual New Franklin Basketball tournament were exactly what you would want in a title game. Unfortunately for New Franklin, high school rules require four quarters to be played, and that resulted in a 60-46 loss to the Westran Hornets for the Bulldogs.

The first quarter was tied at 15-15 with one second to go when Bulldog sophomore Conner Wilmsmeyer hit a shot that put the Bulldogs in front 17-15 going into the second quarter.

Westran outscored the Bulldogs16-9 in the second quarter allowing the Hornets to take a 31-26 lead into the half. 

The third quarter proved tight as well with New Franklin putting up14 points while Westran could only muster 10. That left the game open for the taking by either team as they entered the fourth quarter with Westran leading by one at 41-40.

The Hornets came out of the huddle on fire, rattling off 17 straight points before New Franklin was able to score. The Bulldogs scored four more in the quarter with the Hornets adding two more to end the game at 60-46.

“We had 10 straight empty possessions at the beginning of the fourth quarter where we had three turnovers and seven missed two-pointers,” said New Franklin coach Ross Dobson. “Those guys (Westran) are long, and you have to be able to finish through contact. We thought we were getting bumped a lot but we gave everything we had through three quarters. You can’t be disappointed staying with the No. 4 team in the state.”

Senior Tre Cowans led the Bulldogs with 20 points with sophomore Drake Clark putting up eight. Conner Wilmsmeyer put up seven while sophomore Sawyer Felten added four. Junior Clayton Wilmsmeyer contributed two points, as did sophomore Jacob Marshall to round out the scoring for the Bulldogs.

“Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job, but the fourth quarter killed us. We hit a brick wall,”  said Dobson. “The last time I remember something like that was about five years ago in a district championship against Sacred Heart when they had three 1,000-point scorers. That was probably the last time I saw something like that. I told the guys I was proud of them and we’ll turn around and play basketball on Tuesday.”

The loss moves New Franklin’s record to 9-3. The Bulldogs hosted the 7-4 Glasgow Yellow Jackets Tuesday night after The Advertiser went to press. They will then face off against 5-8 Community on the road on Friday before traveling to Pilot Grove next Tuesday.