Lake Downs Louisville on Senior Night 46-39
FULL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Lake 46, Louisville 39
Louisville rallied to get within 40-36 late, but Lake hit 8 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to sink the Leopards on Senior Night 46-39. Senior Mike Kelly led Louisville with 13 points, Senior Jake O’brien had 8 points, and Senior Trevor Meredith also had 7 points in the final home game of their high school careers.
The turning point in the contest came at the end of the first half when Lake stormed to 24-23 halftime lead after a 10-0 run. Before the run, the Leopards scored the previous 7 points to take a 23-14 advantage. However, Lake shutout Louisville for the final 4:18 of the quarter aiding their comeback.
The drought continued into the third quarter, but this time by the Leopards choosing. For the first half of the third quarter Louisville stalled on offense, which included a solid two minutes of Kelly holding the ball near the right sideline. Lake finally pressured Louisville and Meredith adjusted and scored on a lay-in off a pass from Senior Billy Lairson to give the Leps a 26-25 advantage.
Unfortunately, the Blue Steaks answered right back on the other end on a Dylan Seibel layup. Seibel finished the night with a game-high 14 points for Lake. Even as Louisville continued to milk the clock more, the Streaks still managed to take advantage of their opportunities to score. A steal and score by Josh Duerr as time expired provided the backbreaker that Lake needed as they took a 30-25 lead into the fourth quarter.
Lake and Louisville traded baskets early on in the final period, before the Blue Streaks upped their advantage to 38-29. Seibel and Ryan Coen, who both scored double figures on the evening, had two big buckets each for Lake.
Kelly made things interesting for the Leopards as he hit 2 of his 3 fourth quarter three-pointers to cut the deficit to 40-36. But, Lake was perfect…literally. They made all 8 of their attempted free throws in the fourth quarter and shot 12 of 12 from the line for the game to seal the deal.
Louisville came out of the gates on fire hitting 6 of 10 shots from the field in the first quarter. O’brien hit 2 three-pointers in the opening period and Trevor Hostetler hit a three-pointer as the first eight minutes expired to push Louisville out to a 16-11 lead.
The Leopards kept momentum in the next quarter as Seniors Jon Crank, Meredith, and O’brien each added buckets to give the Leps a 23-14 lead. But then Lake answered back scoring 16 of the next 18 points and never relinquished their advantage after that.
Even though their efforts came up short against a tough Federal League foe, the Leopards are now tournament ready as they will take on Boardman Monday Night at Alliance. Louisville finishes the regular season with an overall record of 7-13.
Leopard Nation would like to give a shout-out to our 5 Seniors: Jon Crank, Mike Kelly, Billy Lairson, Trevor Meredith, and Jake O’brien. It has truly been a pleasure watching you the past few years and though our time covering your games was not nearly long enough, your memories as a Leopard will last a lifetime. Good luck to all of you as you take your next steps in life!
STATISTICS
BLUE STREAKS: Seibel 7 0-0 14, Coen 5 0-0 10, Duerr 1 6-6 8, Vauldrin 0 6-6 6, Belinsky 2 0-0 5, Hohenadel 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 16 12-12 46.
TEAM FG: 14-29 48%
TEAM 3PT: 2-7 29%
TEAM FT: 12-12 100%
LEOPARDS: Kelly 4 2-4 13, O’brien 3 0-0 8, Meredith 3 1-1 7, Cheezan 2 0-0 4, Hostetler 1 0-0 3, Crank 1 0-1 2, Lairson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 15 3-6 39.
TEAM FG: 15-34 44%
TEAM 3PT: 6-14 43%
TEAM FT: 3-6 50%
Team 1-2-3-4-Total
Lake 11-13-6-16–46
Louisville 16-7-2-14–39
Rebounds: Lake 19-14
Fouls: Louisville 12-9
Records: Lake 15-5, Louisville 7-13
NEXT UP: The Leps will next play Boardman in the DI Alliance Sectional Semifinals held at Harry Fails Gymnasium at Alliance High School on Monday, January 27. Tip-off will begin at approximately 7:30 PM after the Howland vs. Kent Roosevelt game that takes place beforehand starting at 6:00 PM.
PICTURES
JV REPORT
Lake 56, Louisville 47
The Leopards JV squad hit 8 three-pointers in the contest, but it was not enough as Lake pulled ahead of Louisville in the fourth quarter to take the game 56-47. Joey Duckworth led all Leopard scorers with 13 points which included two triples. Andy Minster hit 3 shots from downtown and also broke double figures with 10 points for Louisville. Alex Hollifield also poured in 9 points for the JV Leopards who finished the 2011-12 campaign 12-8.
JV PICTURES
JV STATISTICS
BLUE STREAKS: Flower 6 8-8 23, Champagne 2 2-2 6, Evans 3 0-0 6, Kerrell 3 0-0 6, Peach 2 0-0 4, Pepper 2 0-0 4, Stevens 2 0-0 4, Nisly 1 0-1 2, Rosler 0 1-4 1. TOTALS 21 11-15 56.
3PT: 3 | Flower (3)
TEAM FT: 11-15 73%
LEOPARDS: Duckworth 5 1-2 13, Andy Minster 3 1-3 10, Hollifield 4 0-1 9, Carter 2 1-2 6, Hoover 1 2-4 4, B. Mathie 1 0-0 3, AJ Minster 1 0-2 2. TOTALS 17 5-14 47.
3PT: 8 | Andy Minster (3), Duckworth (2), Carter (1), Hollifield (1), B. Mathie (1)
TEAM FT: 5-14 36%
Team 1-2-3-4–Total
Lake 12-13-16-15–56
Louisville 8-16-11-10–47
Fouls: 14-14
