Aviators Take Off in Fourth Quarter, Louisville Falls 43-39

By Leopard Nation · Published December 14, 2012 · Updated July 1, 2018

Alliance 43, Louisville 39

Host Alliance outscored Louisville 16-6 in the final stanza to earn a 43-39 victory at Harry Fails Gymnasium Friday Night. Blake Hoover led Louisville with 12 points, while Alex Hollifield and AJ Minster each scored 8.

The Leopards were sitting pretty with a 33-27 lead heading into the final quarter. However, Alliance began the period on an 8-1 run and got timely shots from Parrish Martin and JJ Kukura. Martin, who had been shutout during the first three quarters, buried two three-pointers to give Alliance leads of 35-34 and 40-37. Kukura delivered 9 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter including a back-breaking layup with under 20 seconds remaining to give Alliance a 42-39 lead and a free throw with 0.8 seconds left that officially sealed the Leopards fate.

In the first half, both teams had their struggles offensively as the game remained tied at 17-17 at the break. The Leopards stormed ahead when they closed the third quarter on an 8-2 run courtesy of buckets by Minster and Ronnie Carter and Hollifield’s 4-for-4 performance from the line.

But Louisville could only delay the Aviators flight any longer after that as Alliance defeated them for the third consecutive time. The Aviators have now won 8 out of the last 9 games of the series played at Alliance.

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STATISTICS

AVIATORS 43, LEOPARDS 39

LEOPARDS: Hoover 5 2-6 12, Minster 4 0-0 8, Hollifield 1 6-8 8, Carter 3 0-0 7, Schooley 2 0-0 4. TOTAL 15 8-14 39.

3-Pointers (1): Carter

Team FT: 8-14 57%

AVIATORS: Kukura 10 2-4 22, Martin 2 1-2 7, Marcus Williams 3 0-0 6, Marquez Williams 3 0-0 6, Sampson 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 19 3-6 43.

3-Pointers (2): Martin (2)

Team FT: 3-6 50%

Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

Louisville 11-6-16-6–39

Alliance 8-9-10-16–43

Fouls: 15-11 Alliance

Records: Alliance 3-1, 2-0; Louisville 1-3, 0-2

UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to Akron North to take on the Vikings on Tuesday, December 18. JV will begin at 6:00, Varsity will follow at approximately 7:30.

PICTURES

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JV: Louisville 58, Alliance 28

The Leopards outscored the Aviators 34-11 in the second half to roll to a 58-28 win at Harry Fails Gymnasium. Jake Pukys led Louisville with 11 points and a three-pointer in the contest.

Austin Shaheen dropped in four baskets all in the third quarter to finish with 8. Jake Adams also finished with 8 points after popping in two first half three-pointers. Finally, Brock Haren scored 6 of his 8 points in the final period to help Louisville pound a few more nails in the coffin.

Louisville’s defense shutout Alliance from the field during the final 11:03 of the game to move to 2-1 and stay undefeated at 2-0 in NBC play.

Alliance was led by Jai’ron Brackett who scored 11 points.

STATISTICS

LEOPARDS 58, AVIATORS 28

LEOPARDS: Pukys 4 2-2 11, Adams 3 0-0 8, Haren 4 0-0 8, Shaheen 4 0-0 8, Kerzan 3 0-2 6, Noble 2 2-4 6, Mathie 2 0-0 5, Eddins 1 0-0 2, Graybeal 1 0-0 2, Lairson 1 0-1 2. TOTAL 25 4-9 58.

3-Pointers (4): Adams (2), Mathie, Pukys

Team FT: 4-9 44%

AVIATORS: Brackett 4 3-3 11, Amponsah 2 1-2 5, Royster 2 1-4 5, Williams 1 2-4 4, Hood 0 3-4 3, Blue 0 0-2 0. TOTAL 9 10-19 28.

3-Pointers: None

Team FT: 10-19 53%

TEAM 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

Louisville 11-13-17-17–58

Alliance 10-7-7-4–28

Fouls: 17-13 Louisville

Records: Louisville 2-1, 2-0