Leopards Silence Lions to Clinch Share of NBC – Boys Basketball
Louisville 68, Minerva 57
The Louisville Leopards earned a 68-57 victory over the host Minerva Lions Friday Night at Minerva High School. With the victory, Louisville improves to 13-5 overall and 10-2 in the NBC. Their win coupled with a West Branch 58-55 loss to Alliance gives the Leopards a share of their 10th NBC Title in team history.
Brandon Wahl scored 12 of his team-high 17 point in the second half to lead the Leopards. WHBC Player of the Game Colton Jones also hit 4 of 4 three-point attempts to finish with 16 and Spencer Hall recorded a double double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Lions (11-8, 8-5) were led by Brice Williams who scored a game-high 23 points and had 5 boards. Connor Wright also poured in 18 points and had 3 steals, Phillip Boord scored 8 points to go along with a game-high 4 steals, and Brock Croston added 7 points for Minerva.
The Leopards have now defeated the Lions in 10 straight meetings including 17 out of the last 18 overall. Louisville has also won the last 5 meetings in the series played at Minerva. This was the 160th meeting between the two schools with the Leopards leading the all-time series 92-68 which includes a 43-15 mark in NBC games.
Donate to Leopard Nation
Minerva Lions at Louisville Leopards Radio Broadcast Replay
Courtesy of WHBC Sports
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next host the Boardman Spartans on Tuesday, February 13. JV will start at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow around 7:30 PM.
Varsity Statistics
LEOPARDS 68, LIONS 57
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 19-18-13-18–68
Minerva 18-10-9-20–57
LEOPARDS: Wahl 5 4-5 17, C. Jones 4 4-8 16, Hall 2 6-7 10, Hartline 2 2-4 6, King 2 1-2 6, Zuppe 2 2-3 6, Zeller 2 0-0 5, Burick 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 20 19-29 68.
3-Pointers (9): C. Jones 4, Wahl 3, King, Zeller
Team FT: 19-29 66%
LIONS: Williams 9 4-4 23, Wright 4 9-11 18, Boord 3 2-2 8, Croston 3 0-1 7, Miller 0 1-2 1. TOTAL 19 16-20 57.
3-Pointers (3): Croston, Williams, Wright
Team FT: 16-20 80%
Fouls: 18-18
Turnovers: 13-10 Louisville
Records: Louisville 13-5, 10-2; 11-8, 8-5
JV: Louisville 59, Minerva 54
JV Statistics
LEOPARDS 59, LIONS 54
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 14-19-13-13–59
Minerva 11-14-11-18–54
LEOPARDS: Hoffman 2 8-8 13, Noble 6 0-0 12, Wright 4 1-2 11, Chambers 4 0-2 8, Pukys 2 1-2 5, Croxton 2 0-1 4, Staley 1 0-0 3, Pickens 1 0-2 2, Gronow 0 1-2 1. TOTAL 22 11-19 59.
3-Pointers (4): Wright 2, Hoffman, Staley
Team FT: 11-19 58%
LIONS: Catlett 7 4-4 19, McGrath 3 4-6 12, Lowmiller 5 1-1 11, Kimble 1 2-2 4, Sallade 1 2-2 4, Garlock 1 0-0 2, Greer 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 19 13-15 54.
3-Pointers (3): McGrath 2, Catlett
Team FT: 13-15 87%
Fouls: 21-17 Minerva
Turnovers: 15-9 Minerva
Records: Louisville 14-4, 11-1