Boys Basketball Delivers Greatest Gift of All Against St. Ignatius

Mount Union Purple Raiders Basketball Scoreboard

Louisville 67, St. Ignatius 65

Jake Adams hit the game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds of Louisville’s stunning 67-65
Beatty's Winter 2015 Grey and Blue Hoodievictory over the state ranked Cleveland St. Ignatius Wildcats in the Alliance Christmas Classic at Mount Union College Wednesday Night. The Leopards erased a 16-point third quarter deficit in improving to 5-2 on the season.

Drew Noble scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to lead Louisville. Adams also poured in 17 points, Brody Hahn had a game-high 6 assists, and both Jared Holland & Jake Pukys added 6 points a piece.

The Leopards trailed 53-37 with just three minutes remaining in the third quarter. All but buried, Louisville surged ahead with an improbable 21-4 run to take their first lead of the game at 58-57 with 3:04 left in the game. The Leopards banged through 4 triples, 3 coming from Adams and 1 from Chris Libertore, during the stretch. Noble also scored two field goals during the run and both Brody Hahn & Jarett Heater added buckets.

After two scoreless possessions, each team traded baskets. Louisville’s score came via Noble who adjusted nicely from underneath the backboard to make the lay-in. Then, Holland drew a holding foul while trying to grab the rebound on the other end. With Louisville in the bonus, Holland went to the line and converted two free throws. This put the Leopards up 62-59 with 1:59 to go.

Ignatius knotted the game back up again when Ryan Gerber made a three from the left wing.  Louisville took the lead back after Noble made two free throws from a shooting foul. However, the Wildcats answered when Deven Stover rumbled to the hole to tie the game and also drew a foul in the process. Stover made the “And 1” free throw to put St. Ignatius ahead 65-64 with 37.1 left to go.

The Wildcats intercepted a Leopard pass on the ensuing possession and looked to secure the game via the bonus. However, St. Ignatius missed the front end of the 1-and-1 opportunity and Noble snagged the board. Louisville called timeout at mid-court with 9.8 seconds left.

On the final play of the game, Hahn took the in-bound from Adams at the mid-court logo. He dribbled to Order Leopard Nation Highlight Videohis right attracting the attention of the Wildcat defenders. Meanwhile, Adams had broken free wide open on the left wing. Hahn heaved the ball over to him and Adams one-timed it into the bottom of the net just before the final buzzer sounded. The Leopards bench cleared, as did the Student Section, in what turned out to be a mobbing of Adams that traveled the length of the court. 67-65 Leopards with zeros on the clock.

The Wildcats (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season, but it did not look like it was going to end that way early on. Ignatius took control of the contest out of the gate in taking a 6-0 lead just 62 seconds after the opening tip-off. They would pull ahead to 30-19 after a track meet of a first quarter and stay on top 40-32 at the break. The Wildcats would increase their lead to as many as 16 before the Leopards roared back.

Matthew Devet recorded 5 steals, made 5 of 6 three-pointers, and scored all of his team-high 19 points in the first half to lead St. Ignatiurs. Stover also scored 14 points, Berger scored 11 points and had 3 steals, and Kyle Kalish scored 10 points to go along with 4 assists & 4 steals.

This was the first ever meeting between the two schools in Boys Basketball and possibly any Varsity sport.

UP NEXT: The Leopards will next host the Perry Panthers on Monday, December 28. JV will begin at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow around 7:30 PM.

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VARSITY STATISTICS

WILDCATS LEOPARDS

Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

St. Ignatius 30-10-15-10–65

Louisville 19-13-15-20–67

Louisville Leopards Vs. St. Ignatius Wildcats Boys Basketball Box Score 12-23-2015

Records: Louisville 5-2

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