Leopards Rally Past Aurora 60-51, Win 7th Straight Sectional Title – Boys Basketball
#29 Louisville 60, #35 Aurora 51
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The #29 seed Louisville Leopards rallied from a double-digit deficit to knock off the visiting #35 seed Aurora Greenmen 60-51 in the DIII Northeast 6 Sectional Finals Friday night at Louisville High School. The victory snaps the Leopards’ 7-game losing streak as they improve to 9-14 on the season. Louisville will next travel to take on the top-seeded Alliance Aviators at Harry Fails Gymnasium on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 PM.
Rogers Explodes for 28 to Lead Louisville Comeback
Cohen Rogers scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Leopards’ come-from-behind victory. Rogers also made 3 of his 4 three-pointers in the second half, and registered game-highs of 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block.
Louisville trailed by as many as 11 points, 30-19, early on in the third quarter before stringing together a 16-2 run. The Leopards defense came alive during that stretch with three straight steals by Drake Wilson, Rogers, and Brandon Sanders that directly led to 6 Louisville points to get them to within 32-30.
After a jump ball and a Leopard timeout, Rogers buried a three-pointer with about a minute remaining in the third quarter to give Louisville its first lead since the start of the game when they led 2-0. Cody Zahler followed with a steal and score to cap off the run giving the Leopards a 35-32 lead. The Greenmen briefly retook the lead in the final minute, but Rogers cashed in on another three-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter to give Louisville a 38-36 lead heading into the final stanza.
Rogers added 9 more points in the final quarter including hitting another three-ball to get the Leopards to within 48-47 following a steal by Colten Norris. The three ignited a 7-0 Louisville run that ended with a Rogers steal and score to make it 51-48 in favor of the Leopards. Rogers’ pickpocket came just seconds after Zahler tipped away a pass and took it the other way to put Louisville in front by one. Zahler recorded 3 steals, converting each into his own fast-break points.
Later on, Rogers finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw stripe in the final 23.6 seconds to remove all doubt.
The 28 points scored by Rogers is the most by a Leopard in a tournament game since Hayden Nigro scored 30 in Louisville’s record-setting 108-32 win over Akron North in the 2024 sectional semifinals. Will Aljancic’s 37 points still remains the team postseason record during the Leopards 90-86 overtime win against Cleveland Glenville in the 2022 DII Regional Semifinals.
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Sanders and Wilson Score 9 Points Each for Leopards
Sanders and Wilson both scored 9 points each for Louisville. Sanders scored 7 of his 9 points in the fourth quarter, which included a key drive across the lane for a basket to make it 53-51 with about two and a half minutes remaining. Sanders also pulled down 6 rebounds, tallied 3 assists, and recorded 2 steals.
Wilson scored the first points of the evening after neither team scored in the opening 2:20. He scored a pair of baskets in the third quarter and made a jumper early on in the fourth quarter to help the Leopards reset after falling behind 45-40. Wilson matched Rogers and Zahler with a game-best 3 steals, which included a key steal in the final minute of the contest.
Other scorers for Louisville included Zahler with 7, Colton Dougherty with 4, and Max Mathie with 3. Norris also secured a game-best 7 rebounds to go along with 2 steals.
Goedert Scores Team-High 17 to Lead Aurora
Guilherme Goedert scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to lead Aurora. Luke Hilditch made 3 three-pointers and finished with 11 points to go along with team-highs of 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Connor McLendon scored all 10 of his points in the first three quarters of action to round out the Greenmen’s double-figure scorers.
Aurora led 9-6 after the first quarter and began the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a double-digit advantage. The Greenmen maintained a 25-17 lead at the half and increased it to 30-19 on a John Trivisonno three-pointer early on in the second half. Trivisonno finished with 7 points.
Other scorers for Aurora included Luke Bonnette, Joshua Harrell, and Jack Rachel who all contributed a basket each. Bonnette matched Hilditch with a team-leading 4 rebounds.
The Greenmen finish with a final record of 9-14 after suffering four straight losses to end the season. This was the first-ever meeting between Louisville and Aurora in boys basketball.
Louisville Ends One Streak, Renews Another
The Leopards snapped their longest losing streak since 2013 with the win. They also extended their tournament winning streak to an all-time best 8 games after they went 7-0 to win the state championship a year ago. Louisville also remains unbeaten in Division III postseason play.
The Leopards have also now won 8 consecutive home tournament games and are a staggering 20-5 in the postseason overall since their last home postseason loss to Tallmadge in 2019. Louisville is now 12-2 in home tournament games all-time and 73-91 in the postseason since 1932.
The sectional championship is the program’s seventh straight. The Leopards have now claimed 15 sectional titles since 1990.
<<< 2025 Vs. Cincinnati Aiken | Tournament History | Next At Alliance >>>
UP NEXT: The Leopards will travel to Harry S. Fails Gymnasium to take on the top-seeded host Alliance Aviators on Tuesday, March 3 in the DIII Northeast 6 District Semifinals. Game time is set for 7:00 PM at Alliance High School.
DIII Northeast 6 Sectional
SECTIONAL FINALS
#1 Alliance 75, #47 Akron Firestone 52
#29 Louisville 60, #35 Aurora 51
#13 Bedford 67, #43 Willoughby South 50
#11 Akron Garfield 58, #39 Uniontown Lake 33
DISTRICT SEMIFINALS (Tuesday, March 3)
#29 Louisville at #1 Alliance, 7:00
#13 Bedford at #11 Akron Garfield, 7:00
DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP (Saturday, March 7)
at Strongsville High School, 7:00
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Aurora at Louisville Boys Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 60, GREENMEN 51
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Aurora 9-16-11-15–51
Louisville 6-11-21-22–60
Aurora Greenmen Boys Basketball Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Guilherme Goedert | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| Luke Hilditch | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Connor McLendon | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| John Trivisonno | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Luke Bonnette | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Joshua Harrell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Jack Rachel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 14 | 5 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 51 |
Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Cohen Rogers | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 28 |
| Brandon Sanders | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Drake Wilson | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Cody Zahler | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Colton Dougherty | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Max Mathie | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 16 | 5 | 21 | 13 | 22 | 60 |
Fouls: 22-14 Aurora
Records: Louisville 9-14, Aurora 9-14
