Louisville Takes Jackson To the Wire in Regular Season Finale 62-58 – Boys Basketball
Jackson 62, Louisville 58
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The Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Basketball Team fell in a back-and-forth thriller to the host Jackson Polar Bears 62-58 in their regular season finale Friday night at Jackson High School. Louisville closes the regular season at 8-14 after dropping its seventh straight.
Varsity Recap | Varsity Box Score | JV Box Score
Zahler Scores Team-High 18 After Late Louisville Push
Cody Zahler scored 9 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and registered a team-best 6 rebounds to lead the Leopards. Zahler put Louisville in front three times in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer that gave them a 55-52 lead with 4:42 to play.
The Polar Bears used a 7-1 run to take the lead, but Zahler scored his fourth basket of the quarter to get the Leopards back to within a point. Zahler faked like he was going to go outside the arc, but then quickly cut back in for an easy layup via an assist from Drake Wilson to cut the deficit to 59-58 with just over two minutes remaining.
Jackson scored the final three points of the game as Louisville was unable to connect on six shot attempts in the final 30 seconds, including four attempts from beyond the arc.
Wilson Finishes in Double Figures for Leopards
Wilson also finished in double figures, scoring all of his 13 points in the first three quarters to go along with 4 rebounds and a game-high 3 steals.
Other top scorers for the Leopards included Brandon Sanders with 8 and Cohen Rogers with 6. Sanders added a key fourth quarter bucket and also dished out 3 assists. Rogers scored all of his points in the opening half, pulled down 5 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists.
Jake Baker and Colten Norris both added to Louisville’s fourth quarter total and finished with 5 points each and recorded 2 steals apiece.. Norris also recorded 5 rebounds as Louisville held a 26-19 edge on the glass. Max Mathie rounded out the Leopard scoring with a three-pointer in the second quarter.
Neither team led by more than five points throughout the contest and there were more than ten lead changes.
Loy Scores Game-High 29 to Lead Polar Bears
Kaiden Loy scored 11 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Polar Bears to victory. He also made 2 three-pointers, dished out 3 assists, and tallied 2 steals.
Mason Morris and Ethan O’Byrne crashed the glass for a game-high 8 rebounds each. O’Byrne scored all 9 of his points in the fourth quarter, while Morris added 4 points to go along with 2 assists.
Carter Muhleman and Giovanni Stands tacked on 7 points each. Muhleman registered a game-best 2 blocks, while Stands contributed on both sides of the ball with a game-high 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block.
Jaxon Bowen and Zach Ziehler each added a three-pointer, as Jackson finished with 6 treys as a team.
The Polar Bears have now won 8 of their last 10, finishing the regular season with a record of 14-7.
Louisville Vs. Jackson Boys Basketball Series
The Polar Bears have now won 21 out of the last 22 against the Leopards overall, including 11 out of the last 12 played at Jackson. The lone Louisville victory was a 68-66 win at JHS in their last meeting on January 25, 2022. Prior to Louisville’s lone 2022 win, the Polar Bears had won 20 straight — following a 12-game Leopard winning streak before that.
Louisville trails the all-time series 24-26 dating back to their first meeting in 1940. This includes a 12-13 record in games played at Jackson in the series.
<<< Previous 2022 | Jackson All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The #29 seed Leopards will next host the #35 seed Aurora Greenmen in the DIII Northeast 6 Sectional Finals on Friday, February 27 at 7:00 PM at Louisville High School.
Cover Photo By: Rick Everhart Photography
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Louisville at Jackson Boys Varsity Basketball Statistics
POLAR BEARS 62, LEOPARDS 58
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 12-14-18-14–58
Jackson 13-13-18-18–62
Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Cody Zahler | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Drake Wilson | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Brandon Sanders | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Cohen Rogers | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Jake Baker | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Colten Norris | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Max Mathie | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 17 | 4 | 21 | 12 | 17 | 58 |
Jackson Polar Bears Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Kaiden Loy | 9 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 29 |
| Ethan O’Byrne | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Carter Muhleman | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Giovanni Stands | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Mason Morris | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jaxon Bowen | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zach Ziehler | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 16 | 6 | 22 | 12 | 16 | 62 |
Fouls: 19-18 Jackson
Records: Jackson 14-7, Louisville 8-14
JV: Jackson 63, Louisville 38
JV Statistics
POLAR BEARS 63, LEOPARDS 38
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 11-7-12-8–38
Jackson 11-20-13-19–63
Louisville Leopards Boys JV Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Ashton Weisend | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| Chase Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Noah Ickes | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Khy Gooden | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Louie Ozaki | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Caison Grimm | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Karter Elmerick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| David Keagy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 7 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 38 |
Jackson Polar Bears Boys JV Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Nick McCue | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Landon Koening | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Jayden Pitzo | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 |
| Ben Blauner | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Mason Ash | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Crew Forbes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Zach Ziehler | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Carter Elacey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 14 | 8 | 22 | 11 | 20 | 63 |
Fouls: 20-16 Louisville
Records: Louisville 10-10
