Aljancic Breaks Scoring Record in Leopards Win Over Canfield – Boys Basketball
Louisville 55, Canfield 46
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The Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Basketball Team defeated the visiting Canfield Cardinals 55-46 Friday Night at Louisville High School. With their tenth straight victory, Louisville improves to 10-2 on the year.
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Aljancic Sets LHS Career Scoring Record
Senior wing Will Aljancic scored a game high 30 points to lead the Leopards. His three-pointer from the right wing with 1:47 left in the contest proved to be the record-breaking shot in earning him the title of Louisville’s all-time leading scorer with 1,149 career points scored.
Aljancic needed 27 points coming into the game to tie the Leopard career mark of 1,146 held by Chris Libertore (2013-2017). He was nearly halfway home to that total through the first eight minutes of action. Aljancic hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with 13 points in the first quarter as Louisville took a commanding double digit 19-7 lead after one. He then added 4 points in each of the next two quarters to up his total to 21 heading into the final stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Aljancic tied the career scoring record on a steal and score with 5:24 left in the game. Sophomore point guard Beau Siegfried combined with Aljancic to trap the Canfield dribbler in the backcourt against the baseline in forcing the theft.
Each team managed to score just 2 points over the next three and a half minutes as multiple record-breaking opportunities evaded Aljancic. But finally the elusive shot hit its mark declaring a new Leopard scoring king. An official’s timeout was taken and Aljancic was congratulated by all of his teammates and coaches. An announcement of the accomplishment was made over the public address system and Aljancic was honored at mid-court accompanied by his parents.
Aljancic Sets Single Game Dunk Record
Aljancic also set another record Friday night by registering three dunks. The first two jams came just minutes apart in the opening period via self-produced steals in the backcourt. The final slam came in the half court when junior guard Hayden Nigro found Aljancic wide open under the hoop. Aljancic caught the pass, pivoted, and went airborne for his third dunk of the night.
While three dunks in a single game is now a Louisville record, it is not a personal best for Aljancic. He once dunked 4 times in an AAU game.
Leopards Remain in Command Throughout
Louisville never trailed outside the beginning of the first quarter. The Leopards held a 28-19 lead at halftime and remained in control, ahead 41-32 at the end of three. Louisville would build its advantage to as much as 49-35 midway through the fourth quarter before a late push by the Cardinals cut the final deficit to single digits.
Sophomore forward Ashton Marshall scored in every quarter and finished with 7 for the Leopards. Other Louisville top scorers included sophomore forward Brayden Gross and Nigro who added 6 points each. Siegfried and sophomore post Kolton Loy rounded out the final tally with 3 points a piece.
Russo Leads Cardinals with 13
Canfield (7-3) was led by junior guard Tony Russo who made a pair of three-pointers and finished with a team high 13 points. Junior guard Dom Cruz and junior forward Jake Schneider also tacked on 7 points each for CHS.
The Leopards have now defeated the Cardinals in three straight meetings. Louisville defeated Canfield 53-49 in last year’s sectional final at LHS and the Leopards also downed the Cardinals 63-59 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse during the 2021-22 regular season. Louisville is now 3-4 against Canfield all-time dating back to their first meeting in the 1993-94 season.
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Louisville Notches 10th Straight Victory
The Leopards 10-game winning streak is the longest since the undefeated 20-0 season of 2000-2001. They are the fourth Louisville team since 1930 to win 10 games in a row as they match the win streaks of the 1964-1965 and 1933-1934 teams. They will look to join the ranks of the 1992-1993 and 1970-1971 teams when they go for their 11th straight win against the Grove City Greyhounds (6-4) on Sunday, January 15 at Ohio Dominican University.
| Win Streak | Season |
| 21 | 2000-2001 |
| 13 | 1991-1992 |
| 12 | 1992-1993 |
| 11 | 1992-1993 |
| 11 | 1970-1971 |
| 10 | 2022-2023 |
| 10 | 1964-1965 |
| 10 | 1933-1934 |
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to take on the Grove City Greyhounds on Sunday, January 15. Game time is slated for 6:30 PM from Ohio Dominican University.
Cover Photo By The Louisville Herald
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Canfield at Louisville Varsity Statistics
LEOPARDS 55, CARDINALS 46
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Canfield 7-12-13-14–46
Louisville 19-9-13-14–55
CARDINALS: Russo 5 1-3 13, Cruz 3 0-0 7, Schneider 3 1-4 7, Castranova 2 0-2 5, McCune 2 1-1 5, Delucia 2 0-0 4, Weaver 1 0-0 3, Heikkinen 1 0-1 2, Shapiro 0 0-1 0. TOTAL 19 3-12 46.
3-Pointers (5): Russo 2, Castranova, Cruz, Weaver
Team FT: 3-12 25%
LEOPARDS: Aljancic 13 1-6 30, Marshall 3 1-2 7, Gross 2 2-6 6, Nigro 1 4-4 6, Loy 1 1-2 3, Siegfried 1 0-0 3. TOTAL 20 9-20 55.
3-Pointers (3): Aljancic
Team FT: 9-20 45%
Fouls: 16-14 Canfield
Records: Louisville 10-2
JV: Canfield 62, Louisville 61
JV Statistics
CARDINALS 62, LEOPARDS 61
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Canfield 19-6-29-8–62
Louisville 11-21-11-18–61
CARDINALS: Roberts 5 0-1 13, Phillips 4 2-2 11, Delisio 4 0-1 8, Biondillo 3 0-0 7, Snyder 3 0-0 7, Heikkinen 2 2-2 6, Shina 3 0-0 6, Cocca 2 0-0 4. TOTAL 26 4-6 62.
3-Pointers (6): Roberts 3, Biondillo, Phillips, Snyder
Team FT: 3-12 25%
LEOPARDS: Andrejcik 7 4-6 23, Dougherty 8 6-6 22, Aljancic 3 0-0 6, Boldon 0 4-4 4, Leghart 1 0-0 3, Stoffer 1 0-0 3. TOTAL 20 14-16 61.
3-Pointers (7): Andrejcik 5, Leghart, Stoffer
Team FT: 14-16 87%
Fouls: 15-14 Canfield
Records: Louisville 4-3
