It nearly took overtime, but a missed free throw from Mott-Regent senior Brett Messmer secured New England’s narrow 74-73 victory Thursday in the Region 7 third-place game.
New England senior guard Brady Bender scored 24 points, and junior center Cody Holt put up 25 points and 21 rebounds before fouling out with two minutes left in the fourth.
Sophomore Denit Sorenson also added 12 points for New England (16-9).
The Tigers led 18-9 after the first quarter, but the Wildfire battled to tie the score at 30 going into halftime. New England held a one-point edge through three quarters and the teams battled back and forth to the end.
Messmer was fouled while making a layup with 6 seconds remaining in the fourth but missed the game-tying free throw. The Wildfire couldn’t collect the rebound for another shot before time ran out.
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Senior Chance Roth led four Mott-Regent (15-10) players in double-figures with 16. Junior Brady Wegh added 15, Messmer had 13 and sophomore Tanner Zentner chipped in with 12.
NE 18 30 51 74
MR 9 30 50 73
NE: Cody Holt 25, Brady Bender 24, Denit Sorenson 12, Carter Stang 8, Hunter Wolf 5.
MR: Chance Roth 16, Brady Wegh 15, Brett Messmer 13, Tanner Zentner 12, Dylan Ambers 8, Carter Honeyman 7, Sean Hertz 2.
3-pointers: NE 3 (Stang 2, Wolf 1), MR 8 (Roth 4, Ambers 2, Honeyman 1, Zentner 1). Free throws: Ne 23-35, MR 9-17. Total fouls: NE 16, MR 21. Fouled out: NE, Holt; MR, Wegh 5. Rebounds: NE 42 (Holt 21), MR 29 (Wegh 7). Assists: NE 10 (Wolf 3), MR 17 (Messmer 5). Steals: NE 13 (Dakotah Mansfield 2, Bender 2), MR 12 (Wegh 3). Blocks: NE 1 (Holt 1), MR 0. Turnovers: NE 13, MR 14.
