Boys Basketball Dumps Dukes, Now Halfway to NBC Perfection
Louisville 91, Marlington 78
The Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball team rallied from a double digit deficit to defeat the visiting 
Marlington Dukes 91-78 at LHS Friday Evening. With the win, Louisville is now 10-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 at the halfway point of the NBC schedule.
Blake Hoover and Chris Libertore were unstoppable all night long as each poured in a game-high 23 points each for the Leopards. Libertore opened the game with 13 points in the first half and Hoover ended the game with 15 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Drew Noble also scored 15, Jake Pukys hit home 13, and Jake Adams added 12 to round out Louisville’s double digit scorers.
The Leopards trailed by 13 with 1:31 left in the second quarter. After that, Louisville exploded on a 31-8 run to take a double digit lead of their own 8 minutes later.
Libertore and Pukys each canned a three-pointer in the final 67 seconds of the first half to shrink the Dukes lead to 41-34 at the break. With the seed planted, the Leopards came out of the locker room carrying the momentum they took in. Libertore buried a three on Louisville’s first possession of the second half. Then after a wild scrambled, Hoover stole the ball away in the Marlington backcourt and scored on a lay-in while also drawing a foul. He completed the old-fashioned three-point play at the charity stride to get the Leopards within 41-40.
The Dukes looked to seized momentum back as they took a 47-43 lead. However, Louisville answered with a 14-0 run to go ahead 57-47 with 1:56 left in the third period. Adams & Pukys each hit triples during the run and Noble also made two big buckets. The Leopards won the third quarter 31-13 and led 65-54 heading into the final period. They maintained their double digit advantage to keep their undefeated conference mark.
A big key to Louisville’s success during their run and throughout the game was their dominance on the glass. The Leopards out-rebounded the Dukes 44-23 which included an 18-6 advantage on the offensive boards. Hoover and Noble each had a game-high 12 rebounds each for Louisville.
The Leopards chemistry mixed throughout the contest as well and they dished out 19 assists as a team. Joe Crank and Pukys each recorded a game-high 5 assists during the contest.
Marlington was led by Chris Andrews and Brock Begue who each scored a team-high 20 points each and Marcus Devies who rattled in 17. Andrews also led the Dukes in rebounds with 9 and assists with 3.
With the victory, Louisville has now won the last two meetings against Marlington and leads the all-time series 63-38. The combined 169 points scored Friday is the second most ever between the two squads. The Leopards won 93-79 (172 points) back on January 22, 1972.
Louisville’s 91 points scored is their most at home since they defeated Cleveland East 96-47 at LHS back on February 6, 2010. This is also the highest combined score game since a 170 point total was reached back on January 30, 1976 when the Leopards fell at Canton South 108-62.
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to West Branch to take on the Warriors on Friday, January 23. JV will begin at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow at 7:30 PM.
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