Central Wins Opener Over Louisville
Video Highlights
Central Catholic 52, Louisville 39
The Louisville Leopards were outscored by the host Canton Central Catholic Crusaders 24-11 in the second half before falling 52-39 in the season opener Tuesday. Central has now defeated Louisville in three straight season openers.
Drew Noble led the Leopards with 13 points, Jake Pukys scored 9 points, and both Blake Hoover & 
Chris Libertore added 5.
The Crusaders shots lights out to take a 26-12 advantage two minutes into the second quarter. However, the Leopards answered back with a 16-2 run to end the half and tie the game at 28-28.
Central Catholic used a 10-0 second half run to take command of the game. After Pukys hit a three-pointer for Louisville to cut the Central lead to 35-34, the Crusaders held the Leopards scoreless from the field for over eight minutes. Louisville trimmed Central’s 11-point advantage to 45-39 with 4:35 remaining, but did not score again.
The Crusaders iced the game after that. They were led by Jerry Leatherman with 13 and Josh Schott with 11 for the night.
Central has now won the last three meetings in the series after Louisville won the previous three. The Crusaders lead the all-time series 30-25.
VARSITY STATISTICS
CRUSADERS 52, LEOPARDS 39
LEOPARDS: Noble 5 3-8 13, Pukys 3 2-3 9, Hoover 1 3-4 5, Libertore 2 0-0 5, Crank 1 0-0 3, B. Mathie 1 0-0 3, Minster 0 1-4 1. TOTAL 13 9-19 39.
3-Pointers (4): Crank, Libertore, B. Mathie, Pukys
Team FT: 9-19 47%
CRUSADERS: Leatherman 5 3-4 14, Schott 4 1-2 11, Murphy 1 4-6 6, Stuffel 2 1-2 5, Williams 2 0-0 5, Paulowski 1 2-2 4, Rowlands 2 0-2 4, Lyde 1 1-2 3. TOTAL 18 12-20 52.
3-Pointers (4): Schott (2), Leatherman, Williams
Team FT: 12-20 60%
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 12-16-6-5–39
Central Catholic 21-7-15-9–52
Fouls: 19-19
Records: Central Catholic 2-0, Louisville 0-1
JV: Central Catholic 45, Louisville 42
Central made six straight free throws to break a 39-39 tie in the final 51.2 seconds to pull out a 45-42 victory over visiting Louisville.
Tyler Adams led the Leopards with 15 points including 8 in the third quarter alone. Matt Eddins also hit 2 three-pointers and scored 8 points and Connor Bast added 5.
The difference in the contest came at the free throw line. Louisville made just 3 of 7 free throws and Central made 16 of 21 attempts. The Leps actually made more field goals 16-13.
The Crusaders with led by Ryan Mallette with 13 and Mark Mokros with 11.
JV STATISTICS
CRUSADERS 45, LEOPARDS 42
LEOPARDS: Adams 7 0-1 15, Eddins 2 2-2 8, Bast 2 0-0 5, Shaheen 2 0-0 4, Hahn 1 0-0 3, Hall 1 0-0 2, J. Mathie 1 1-4 3. TOTAL 16 3-7 42.
3-Pointers (5): Eddins (2), Adams, Bast, Hahn.
Team FT: 3-7 43%
CRUSADERS: Mallette 5 2-5 13, Mokros 3 4-4 11, Platek 0 5-6 5, Kingsbury 0 4-4 4, Schembechler 2 0-0 4, McAfee 1 1-2 3, McCoury 1 0-0 3, Walencewicz 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 13 16-21 45.
3-Pointers (3): Mallette, McCoury, Mokros
Team FT: 16-21 76%
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 11-11-10-10–42
Central Catholic 8-11-12-14–45
Fouls: 17-12 Louisville
Records: Louisville 0-1
