Boys Basketball’s 17-Game NBC Win Streak Snapped by Alliance
Alliance 65, Louisville 62
The Louisville Leopards Varsity Boys Basketball Team was edged by the visiting Alliance Aviators 65-62 
Friday Night at LHS. With the loss, Louisville drops to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in NBC play.
Jake Pukys hit 5 three-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points for the Leopards. Drew Noble also dropped home 17 points, grabbed a game-high 15 boards, and finished with 2 blocks. Jake Adams also tacked on 13 points for Louisville.
The Aviators stormed out to an 11-2 advantage from the get-go, but the Leopards rallied back to get within 13-11. Alliance pulled to ahead 24-19, but Louisville answered back with a 13-0 run. Adams, Chris Libertore, and Pukys all hit triples during the stretch as the Leopards took a 32-27 lead into the break.
The two squads battled back and forth into the third quarter. The Aviators reclaimed the lead when Bryce Hood hit home a three-pointer from the right corner to make it 43-42. Then Sarrick Sampson muscled his way to the hole while being fouled to put Alliance up by three points. With less than a minute to go in the quarter, Noble answered back on the other end by getting a bucket of his own while also being fouled. He converted from the charity stride and knotted the game at 45-45 which remained the scored heading in the fourth quarter.
The Aviators captured the first lead of the final quarter via a steal and score by DJ Hancock. Alliance 
would take a 5-point lead, but the Leopards rallied back. Noble’s jumper gave Louisville a 62-61 lead with 1:45 left to play.
Both teams exchanged back-to-back turnovers as the clock ticked away. Alliance’s JaRon Bracket drew a foul with 37.0 seconds left to play and converted both free throws to put the Aviators back in the lead at 63-62.
Louisville turned the ball over on the ensuing possession giving the ball immediately back to Alliance. Hancock made two more free throws to increase the Aviators advantage to 65-62.
The Leopards were unable to hit a needed three-pointer on the other end and the Aviators snatched the rebound before drawing a foul. Two missed free throws kept Louisville’s pulse alive, but Sampson blocked the ensuing throw-in to ice the game for Alliance.
The Aviators had four players reach double figures. Hancock scored a game-high 22 points and had 3 steals to lead Alliance. Bracket also scored 17 points and had a game-high 4 steals, Sampson scored 11, and Hood added 10. The Aviators have now taken 7 of their last 9 games against the Leopards overall. Alliance leads the all-time series 41-16.
For Louisville, the 17 NBC wins in a row finishes as the second longest league winning streak in school history. They end up only behind the teams from 2000-2001 which won 19 straight. The Aviators were the last team to defeat the Leopards before the streak started in a 57-45 final at Alliance on February 7, 2014. Similarly, West Branch was the team that defeated Louisville prior to the 2000-2001 streak before the Warriors ended the Leopards 19-game NBC winning streak in the 2001-02 conference opener. Here are the three longest league winning streaks in Louisville Basketball History:
- 19 Consecutive League Wins – From January 21, 2000 to February 16, 2001
- 17 Consecutive League Wins – From February 14, 2014 to December 11, 2015
- 16 Consecutive League Wins – From January 14, 1992 to 1992-1993 Season
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to Marlington to take on the Dukes on Tuesday, December 22. JV begins at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow at 7:30 PM.
Don’t forget to Subscribe to Our Posts for Free
Order Individual Player Highlight Video
