Leopards Torch Record Book and Vikings 108-32 in Tournament Opener – Boys Basketball
#4 Louisville 108, #76 Akron North 32
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The #4 seed Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball Team demolished the visiting #76 seed Akron North Vikings 108-32 in the DI Northeast 2 Sectional Semifinals Wednesday Night at Louisville High School. With their seventh straight victory, Louisville improves to 21-2 on the season and advances to host the #73 seed Akron Firestone Falcons in the DI Northeast 2 Sectional Finals on Saturday, March 2 at 7:00 PM.
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Live Stream Courtesy of YSN Live
Nigro Pours in Game High 30 to Lead Louisville
Senior guard Hayden Nigro scored 21 of his game high 30 points in the first quarter as the Leopards blasted out of the gate and never looked back. He made 8 of Louisville’s 19 field goals in the opening period as the Leopards scored a team record 45 points in the the opening quarter.
The 21 points scored by Nigro is the most scored in the first quarter by any player in team history. The 26 points scored by Chris Libertore in the fourth quarter of his historic 51-point game at Marlington in 2017 is the only known single quarter point total higher than Nigro’s performance in program history.
Nigro would add 4 points in the second quarter. He was then pulled in the third quarter after adding 5 more that put him at the 30-point mark for the third time this season. Nigro likely would have outscored Akron North by himself had he stayed in the game a few more minutes.
Nigro now sits at 1,383 points for his varsity career. He is now just 26 points shy of tying LHS all-time leading scorer Will Aljancic who set the bar at 1,409 career points.
Siegfried Breaks Own Record with 15 Assists
Junior point guard Beau Siegfried unofficially recorded a program record 15 assists in Wednesday’s sectional semifinal. Fourteen of those assists came in the first half alone.
Siegfried dished out 7 assists in each of the first two quarters to match his single game record of 14 assists set earlier this season in Louisville’s 83-51 victory over Lake on January 23. Siegfried upped the high mark with his 15th assist, a pass inside to Nigro that put the Leopards up 81-24 with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Siegfried, who led the state of Ohio in assists coming into the contest, added a crooked number to his total to give him 153 on the season. His first assist of the night put him ahead of Jared Mathie, who held the previous mark at 138, for the most assists recorded in a single season in the 17 seasons under Head Coach Tom Siegfried.
Siegfried also made a pair of three-pointers and finished with 8 points.
Four Finish in Double Figures for Leopards
Three other Leopards registered double figures in addition to Nigro. Junior forward Brayden Gross scored all 18 of his points from inside the arch. Junior guard Tate Aljancic made a pair of first half three-pointers and tallied 12. Junior guard Avery Andrejcik also broke double digits with 11.
Altogether 13 different Louisville players scored from the floor as the Leopards made a team record 40 field goals on the night. Other top scorers for Louisville included freshman guard Caleb Mayle with 7, junior post Kolton Loy with 6, and junior guard Ashton Marshall with 4. Freshman Aden Norris and Cohen Rogers also added 3 points a piece. Sophomores Luke Boldon, Zack Boldon, and Colton Norris also tacked on a basket each.
Louisville Breaks Scoring Record with 108
The game was over from the onset. The Leopards built an 18-0 lead a little over three minutes into the contest. The only drama remaining was to see what scoring records would fall.
The answer? All of them! Louisville set the team record for most points in a quarter with 45, most points in a half with 73, and most points in a game with 108. The previous program records included the following:
Quarter 35 – 2/1/2022 Vs. Orrville W 77-31(2nd Quarter)Half 58 – 2/8/2022 Vs. Norton W 78-59 (1st Half)Game 106 – 1/28/2023 Vs. Alliance W 106-85
The Leopards also broke a 69-year-old team record for most points scored in a tournament game. The previous mark of 96 was set in Louisville’s 96-39 tournament victory over Greensburg on March 3, 1955.
The Leopards looked like they were going to cruise to the record after reaching the century mark for the second straight game with 5:08 remaining. However, due to the mercy rule, the clock continued to run even as teams began fouling and Louisville failed to score over the next three minutes. Contemplate that for a minute, the Leopards had a running clock the entire second half, endured a three minute scoring drought, and still managed to score 108.
Aden Norris broke the spell by fighting for a tipped ball and scoring under the basket for his first points of the season. He was also fouled on the play and converted the free throw attempt to up the Leopard advantage to 103-32 as the clock ticked down to 1:45 to play. A minute later, Norris passed to Rogers on the right wing and he banged home a three-pointer to tie the record as the clock waned under 45 seconds remaining.
One more stoppage and the quest for the record would have been doomed by the running clock. But it was meant to be. Rogers and Mayle forced a steal on the other end and Rogers gained possession of the ball at mid-court. He passed the ball ahead to Colton Norris who was breaking toward the right side of the basket. Norris made the layup that lit up the scoreboard with a red 108 with under 27 seconds remaining.
Louisville made one final stop on the other end and dribbled out the clock. One down, seven to go.
Boykins Scores Team High 16 for Vikings
Senior shooting guard Rickey Boykins made 4 three-pointers and scored a team high 16 points to lead the Vikings. Other top scorers for Akron North included senior center Benard Jackson with 5 and sophomore forward Josh Idusuyi with 4.
The Vikings started the season off 0-17 before defeating Collinwood and Lincoln West in back-to-back games at home. They finish the year with three straight losses to end their campaign with a final record of 2-20.
Louisville is now 3-1 against Akron North all-time since their first meeting in 2011. The Leopards hold a 3-0 record at home against the Vikings in the series with their last prior meeting coming in the 2013-14 season.
Leopards Ties Record for Home Wins
Louisville has now won its opening tournament game in each of the past four seasons. The Leopards are 10-4 in the postseason during that stretch.
Louisville is now 61-90 all-time in the postseason, which includes a 4-7 mark when playing in Division I and an 8-2 record when playing at home in the tournament.
The Leopards 10th win at home also ties the team record held by the 2000-01 team that finished a perfect 10-0 at home and 20-0 in the regular season overall. Louisville will have a chance to eclipse that 10-0 record with an 11th home win when they host #73 seed Akron Firestone on Saturday in the Sectional Finals.
UP NEXT: The #4 seed Leopards will next host the #73 seed Akron Firestone Falcons on Saturday, March 2. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM at Louisville High School.
DI Northeast 2 Sectional Semifinal Scores
#4 Louisville 108, #76 Akron North 32
#26 Medina 76, #67 Cleveland John Hay 24
#44 Bedford 51, #54 Cleveland John F. Kennedy 52
#29 Cleveland Heights 79, #69 Mayfield 63
#9 GlenOak 69, #51 Copley 54
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Akron North Vikings at Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 108, VIKINGS 32
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Akron North 9-15-2-6–32
Louisville 45-28-19-16–108
Akron North Vikings Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Rickey Boykins | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Benard Jackson | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Josh Idusuyi | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Chris Idusuyi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Eh ther Htoo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| James Lynch | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 8 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 32 |
Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Hayden Nigro | 12 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 30 |
| Brayden Gross | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Tate Aljancic | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Avery Andrejcik | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Beau Siegfried | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Caleb Mayle | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Kolton Loy | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ashton Marshall | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Aden Norris | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Cohen Rogers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Luke Boldon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Zack Boldon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Colton Norris | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 40 | 7 | 47 | 7 | 8 | 108 |
Fouls: 7-6 Akron North
Records: Louisville 21-2, Akron North 2-20
