Louisville Nipped At Hoover 31-30 in Lowest Scoring Game Since 1997 – Boys Basketball
North Canton Hoover 31, Louisville 30
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The Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Basketball Team was edged 31-30 by the host North Canton Hoover Vikings Thursday Night at Dick Snyder Court. The loss snaps the Leopards five game winning streak as they move to 7-2 on the season.
Nigro Scores Game High 17 to Lead Louisville
Sophomore guard Hayden Nigro finished 7 of 10 from the charity stride and scored a game high 17 points to lead Louisville. Senior guard Tyler Boldon also scored 5 points, which all came in the second half. Junior guard Will Aljancic and senior post AJ Lingenhoel also tacked on 4 points each to round out the Leopards scoring.
North Canton took a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and that would be the only time either team reached double digits in a quarter. The game remained low-scoring throughout as the Vikings expanded their lead to 19-16 at the break and maintained their advantage at 28-25 at the end of three periods of action.
Ware Three-Point Play Puts Hoover Back in Front
Hoover was content with their lead and ran the clock for much of the fourth quarter. Louisville remained patient on defense and broke through to take a 29-28 lead via baskets by Boldon and Lingenhoel. The one-point advantage with six minutes to play was the Leopards first lead since the opening half.
North Canton reclaimed the lead when senior center Tanner Ware scored while being fouled with 5:04 to play in the game. He finished off the old-fashioned three-point play by hitting from the free throw line to put the Vikings in front 31-29.
Leopards Last Second Shot Falls Short
Hoover would not score the rest of the way, but Louisville would also fail to connect from the field. Nigro hit the back end of a pair of free throws later on in the quarter to cut the deficit to 31-30.
Despite the drought, the Leopards had a chance to win in the final seconds but their final attempt fell short allowing the Vikings to escape with the win in the lowest scoring game in the rivalry since 1940.
Really proud of this team and their effort last night at Hoover. Leaving 2021 7-2 and 5-1 vs D1 opponents. This team has chemistry, grit and competitors! @LepsAD @LouisvilleLeps #compete pic.twitter.com/znAAjVbAf2
— Tom Siegfried (@Leopardbball) December 31, 2021
Ware and Barker Lead Hoover
Ware finished with a team high 13 points and senior guard Eli Barker dropped in 12 to lead the Vikings (6-2). Other Hoover scorers included juniors Mason Billie, Wes Collins, and Hunter Ross who added 2 points a piece.
Lowest Combined Score Since 1997
The 61 total points scored is the lowest since the Leopards defeated the West Branch Warriors 26-24 in the DII Canton Sectional Tournament on February 25, 1997.
“They held the ball on us and it was a real battle. We were fortunate to make just enough plays to hang on and win. It was a mentally exhausting game.”
– Former Louisville Head Coach Bill Eddins recalls the 1997 tournament matchup
The 61 combined points is the lowest in a regular season game and in a road game since the Leopards won at Columbiana 35-23 on December 18, 1964. Louisville also combined for 23 points at Columbiana in a 12-11 Blue Raider loss to the Clippers on January 4, 1935, which is officially the lowest scoring game in LHS basketball history. Pre-historically (pre-1926) the Louisville Blue Raiders defeated the Uniontown Bobcats 10-3 on February 1, 1924 in a game that featured just 13 points combined.
Lowest Combined Leopards Basketball Scores Since 1948
| Total | Date | Opponent | Result | Louisville | Opponent |
| 47 | 2/23/1957 | Vs. Canton South* | L | 19 | 28 |
| 50 | 2/25/1997 | Vs. West Branch** | W | 26 | 24 |
| 55 | 1949-1950 | Vs. Leetonia | W | 29 | 26 |
| 58 | 1949-1950 | Vs. Ravenna | W | 30 | 28 |
| 58 | 12/18/1964 | At Columbiana | W | 35 | 23 |
| 61 | 12/30/2021 | At North Canton Hoover | L | 30 | 31 |
| 62 | 1949-1950 | Vs. Struthers | W | 36 | 26 |
| 62 | 12/9/2011 | Carrollton | L | 30 | 32 |
| 63 | 1949-1950 | Vs. Columbiana | L | 31 | 32 |
| 63 | 12/8/1959 | At Canton South | L | 30 | 33 |
| 63 | 1/23/2004 | At Canton South | W | 37 | 26 |
| 63 | 11/29/2019 | Perry | L | 24 | 39 |
* Class AA Tournament at Alliance
** DII Canton Sectional at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse
Lowest Scoring Louisville Vs. North Canton Game Since 1940
The Vikings have now defeated the Leopards in each of the last two seasons after Louisville took the previous five meetings in the series prior to that. This is Hoover’s first home victory over the Leopards since a 69-34 win in 2010. North Canton now leads the all-time series 68-60 dating back to 1926.
The 61 points is the lowest combined score in the series since 57 combined points in the 1940 meeting, Hoover won that matchup 38-19. The lowest scoring game in the series belongs to the 1932 matchup in which the Louisville Blue Raiders fell to the host North Canton Vikings 18-14 on February 5, 1932.
The 31 points is the Leopards best defensive effort against the Vikings since defeating them 62-25 in the 1949-1950 season. Louisville’s best defensive effort of all-time also came against Hoover in a 44-2 blowout victory on February 2, 1934. And no, that’s not a misprint.
<<< Previous 2020 | Hoover All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next host the New Philadelphia Quakers on Tuesday, January 4. Freshman will begin at 4:30 PM followed by JV around 5:30 PM and Varsity after around 7:00 PM. .
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Varsity Statistics
VIKINGS 31, LEOPARDS 30
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 8-8-9-5–30
Hoover 10-9-9-3–31
LEOPARDS: Nigro 5 7-10 17, Boldon 2 1-2 5, Aljancic 2 0-0 4, Lingenhoel 2 0-0 4. TOTAL 11 8-12 30.
3-Pointers: None
Team FT: 8-12 67%
VIKINGS: Ware 5 2-4 13, Barker 5 2-4 12, Biller 1 0-0 2, Collins 1 0-2 2, Ross 1 0-0 2, Campbell 0 0-2 0. TOTAL 13 4-12 31.
3-Pointers (1): Ware
Team FT: 4-12 33%
Fouls: 13-9 Louisville
Records: North Canton Hoover 6-2, Louisville 7-2
JV: North Canton Hoover 45, Louisville 36
JV Statistics
VIKINGS 45, LEOPARDS 36
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 6-10-8-12–36
Hoover 14-11-11-9–45
LEOPARDS: Siegfried 3 2-2 9, Vesely 2 2-2 8, Wymer 2 0-0 6, Marshall 2 0-0 4, Aljancic 1 0-2 3, Loy 1 1-3 3, Gross 0 2-2 2, Duskey 0 1-2 1. TOTAL 11 8-13 36.
3-Pointers (6): Vesely 2, Wymer 2, Aljancic, Siegfried
Team FT: 8-13 62%
VIKINGS: Cain 4 4-5 12, Ellis 3 3-5 9, Granito 3 0-0 6, McCann 3 0-0 6, Ash 2 0-0 4, Pringle 2 0-0 4, Braucher 1 0-0 2, Somers 1 0-1 2. TOTAL 19 7-11 45.
3-Pointers: None
Team FT: 7-11 64%
Fouls: 12-11 Louisville
Records: Louisville 5-1
