Nigro Breaks All-Time Scoring Record as Leopards Roll on to Districts – Boys Basketball
#4 Louisville 86, #73 Akron Firestone 38
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The #4 seed Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball Team upended the visiting #73 seed Akron Firestone Falcons 86-38 in the DI Northeast 2 Sectional Finals Saturday Night at Louisville High School. With their eighth straight victory, Louisville improves to 22-2 on the season and advances to take on the #26 seed Medina Battling Bees in the DI Northeast 2 District Semifinals on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 PM from Alliance High School.
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Nigro Becomes All-Time Leading Scorer
Senior guard Hayden Nigro scored all of his game high 27 points in the first three quarters to lead the Leopards. He finished with 18 in the first half and was instrumental during Louisville’s dominant 32-9 second quarter which allowed them to take control of the game.
Nigro would add 9 more points in the third quarter to become the Leopards career scoring leader. Junior guard Tate Aljancic snagged a rebound and threw ahead to Nigro who had broken open in the front court. Nigro dribbled into the lane and went airborne for a two-handed jam. The dunk tied him with Will Aljancic for the most points in team history with 1,410.
Nigro was fouled in the key on Louisville’s next possession and he fittingly went to the charity stride for a chance to break the record. His first attempt drew the front iron, but his second attempt hit its mark. Leopard Head Coach Tom Siegfried called timeout and Nigro embraced congratulations from his teammates and coaches. An announcement was also made by the public address announcer:
“Ladies and Gentleman with the most points Hayden Nigro. Number twenty-four has just become Louisville’s all-time leading scorer. Let’s give him a standing ovation.”
They did. Then after a few more moments of celebration the student section chanted “We love Hayden!” twice before the buzzer sounded to resume play with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Nigro would also hit a pair of three-pointers in the game and converted 9-of-13 free throw attempts.
Siegfried Records Double Double
Junior point guard Beau Siegfried finished with a double double scoring 13 points, dishing out 12 assists, and recording 3 steals for the Leopards. Siegfried is now just one assist shy of tying the team single season record of 171 set by Kyle Radcliff in the 1995-96 season.
Siegfried also cashed in on 3 of Louisville’s 11 three-pointers during the contest.
Aljancic & Gross Score 10 Each
Four different Leopard players finished in double figures for the evening. Junior forward Brayden Gross scored 8 of his 10 points in the first quarter before leaving the game with an injury early on in the second.
Aljancic hit a pair of three-pointers soon after in the second quarter as part of a 26-2 Leopard run. He would add a basket in each of the final two quarters to reach double figures with 10.
Akron Firestone never led, but were neck and neck with Louisville early on at 17-13. The Leopards would string together an 11-0 run followed by a 15-0 run to pull ahead 43-15.
Louisville would go into the half ahead 51-22 and invoked the running clock during the third quarter when they went ahead by 35. LHS led 70-29 when the third quarter concluded and the bench outscored the Falcons 16-9 in the fourth quarter.
Eleven different Leopard players scored from the field. Junior guard Avery Andrejcik made 2 three-pointers and finished with 8. Other scores included Ashton Marshall and Caleb Mayle with 4 each, Kolton Loy and Aden Norris with 3 a piece, and Zack Boldon and Austin Wade who both scored 2.
Dampier Leads Falcons with 10
Sophomore forward Jordan Dampier scored a team high 10 and senior guard Lamar Dampier totaled 8 to lead Akron Firestone. Senior guard Brandon Foster, freshman guard Kamauri Gregory, and junior forward Maurice Smith also added 5 each.
The Falcons drop 3 out of their last 4 to close the season with a 6-17 record.
Louisville is now 3-0 against Akron Firestone all-time, which includes a 2-0 record when playing at LHS in the series. This was the first meeting between the two schools on the hardwood since 2019.
<<< Previous 2019 | Akron Firestone All-Time Series
Louisville Breaks Team Scoring Record
The Leopards also set the team single season scoring record early on in the second quarter. They needed just 20 points coming into the contest to break the mark and they produced over 4 times that output. The record was previously held by the 1991-1992 team that scored 1,703 points in 24 games. This year’s team has now scored 1,770 in the same span.
Louisville is also in line for breaking the highest per game average. They currently sit at 73.8 points per game ahead of the 72.8 average recorded by the 1970-71 team.
Leopards Set Team Record for Home Wins
The Leopards finish with a perfect 11-0 record at home with the win. The 11 home victories eclipses the 2000-01 team, who finished 10-0 at home, for the most wins inside Louisville High School in a season.
The Leopards have now won 13 straight games at home overall and their last 6 tournament games at LHS. Louisville is now 9-2 all-time in the postseason when playing at home.
Louisville Wins 5th Straight Sectional Title
The Leopards have now won five consecutive sectional championships dating back to 2020. The first three came in Division II and the last two came in Division I. This is the seventh sectional title won by Louisville under the direction of Coach Siegfried who is now 16-16 in the postseason during his tenure. He and the Leopards will look to put that record over .500 when Louisville takes on Medina Wednesday at Harry Fails Gymnasium.
<<< Vs. Akron North | Tournament History
UP NEXT: The #4 seed Louisville Leopards will next take on the #26 seed Medina Battling Bees in the DI Northeast 2 District Semifinals on Wednesday, March 6. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM from Alliance High School.
Cover Photo By Athletic Director Terrie Horn
DI Northeast 2 Sectional Final Scores
Saturday, March 2
#4 Louisville 86, #73 Akron Firestone 38
#26 Medina 60, #44 Bedford 51
#17 Canton McKinley 79, #29 Cleveland Heights 76, 2OT
#9 GlenOak 63, #42 Nordonia 52
DI Northeast 2 District Semifinal Schedule
Wednesday, March 6
#4 Louisville Vs. #26 Medina, 7:00
Thursday, March 7
#9 GlenOak Vs. #17 Canton McKinley, 7:00
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Akron Firestone at Louisville Boys Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 86, FALCONS 38
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Firestone 13-9-7-9–38
Louisville 19-32-19-16–86
Akron Firestone Falcons Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Jordan Dampier | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Lamar Dampier | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Brandon Foster | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Kamauri Gregory | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Maurice Smith | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Demetrius Owens | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Azekiel Al-Amin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 14 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 38 |
Louisville Leopards Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Hayden Nigro | 6 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 |
| Beau Siegfried | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Tate Aljancic | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Brayden Gross | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Avery Andrejcik | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Ashton Marshall | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Caleb Mayle | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Kolton Loy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Aden Norris | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zack Boldon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Austin Wade | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 11 | 29 | 17 | 25 | 86 |
Fouls: 18-7 Akron Firestone
Records: Louisville 22-2, Akron Firestone 6-17
