Freshman Boys Basketball Makes Run to Tournament Finals
The Louisville Leopards boys freshman basketball team did not disappoint in the Freshman Tournament at West Branch earlier this month. The underdog 6th-Seeded Leopards defeated Canton South and won nail-biters against Carrollton and Green to advance to the tournament championship. The Leps unfortunately fell to the Northwest Indians in the finale 41-37. “We had a heck of a tourney run,” said Louisville head coach Luke Conley. “We finished 4-1 in our last five games to finish the season at 11-8.”
GAME RECAPS
Monday, February 7
Louisville 56, Canton South 40
Louisville started the tourney on the right foot with an 11-0 run to start their opening game verse Canton South. The Leopards extended their lead over the Wildcats to 15 by the end of the third quarter. Joe Duckworth led Louisville with 16 points and Kyle Bast scorched the nets for 12 more in the convincing 16-point victory.
Wednesday, February 9
Louisville 45, Carrollton 44
Next, the Leopards were trailing 44-43 against Carrollton when Joe Duckworth hit a clutch 15-foot jumper with just 45 seconds remaining. The Warriors could not counter with the same feat on the other end and AJ Minster pulled down the rebound to clinch a Leps victory. Louisville trailed by 7 at the half, but fought back to to take their first lead of the game with three minutes remaining in the final period. Duckworth paced the Leopards with 22 points, while Kyle Bast added 8, and Alex Hollifield poured in 7.
Saturday, February 12
Louisville 45, Green 44
Against Green, the second seeded team in the tournament, the Leopards found themselves in a familiar scenario. Louisville trailed by 9 points at halftime against the beasts of the Suburban League, but the Leps were determined to roar out of the locker room and cage the Bulldogs. Louisville’s defense held Green to just 6 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Leopards slowly crept back into the game with the help of Riley Greybeal and Andy Minster hitting 8 of 12 free throws down the stretch to pull themselves ahead of the Bulldogs. On Green’s final possession, the Leopards got a clutch block and won their second straight game by a score of 45-44. A balanced Leopards attack on offense was a big key to the win. Greybeal was the lead scorer with 11, but right behind him was Kyle Bast with 10, Minster with 9, and Joe Duckworth with 8.
Monday, February 14
Northwest 41, Louisville 37
The Leopards again found themselves behind early in the tournament championship. Northwest led by six points at the break, but the Leps clawed their way to a 14-6 advantage in the third quarter to take a two-point lead heading into the final quarter of the year. Neither Northwest, nor Louisville would go down without a fight and the score remained knotted with 2:30 left in the season. However, the Indians broke free in the final minutes by hitting a few clutch free throws to take the game by four points. AJ Minster scored 8, Alex Hollifield and Joe Duckworth had 7, and Andy Minster also chalked up 6 points in the loss.
It was a great season by the Leopards and they especially showed their spots in the tournament. After finishing the regular season just above .500 at 8-7, they put together a tournament run that showed signs of a promising future for the basketball class of 2014.
