Leopards Uproot #1 Ranked Lutheran East 77-65 – Boys Basketball
#11 Louisville 77, #1 Lutheran East 65
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The #11 ranked Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Basketball Team downed the Division III defending state champion and #1 ranked Lutheran East Falcons 77-65 Saturday Night at the Play-By-Play Classic held at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. With their fifth straight victory, Louisville improves to 19-2 on the campaign.
Nigro Matches Season High with 31
Senior guard Hayden Nigro scored 20 of his game high 31 points in the first half to lead the Leopards. Nigro also poured in season high 31 points earlier in the season against another defending state champion in Archibishop Hoban on December 15.
Louisville held a 21-19 edge at the end of the first, but outscored Lutheran East 24-14 in the second quarter to lead 45-33 at the half. Nigro hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with 14 in the second stanza.
Siegfried and Gross Finish with Double Figures
The Leopards would lead the rest of the way and carry that same 12-point margin to the finish line. Junior point guard Beau Siegfried would hit 3 of his 4 three-pointers in the third quarter and ended the night with 17. Louisville outscored Lutheran East 16-13 in the third to pull ahead 61-46 heading into the fourth.
The Falcons outscored the Leopards 19-16 in the final stanza to get the margin back to within 12, but the statement had already been made.
Junior forward Brayden Gross scored 9 of his 13 points in the opening quarter in which Louisville set the tone early and never looked back. Other scorers for the Leopards included junior guard Avery Andrejcik with 8, junior guard Tate Aljancic with 4, and junior forward Austin Wade with 4.
McCulloch Scores 24 to Lead Lutheran East
Senior 6’8 center Jesse McCulloch scored 16 of his team high 24 points in the second half to lead top ranked Lutheran East. Louisville held the Michigan State commit McCulloch to only 6 points in the opening half, which proved key in helping the Leopards take control of the game early.
Senior point guard Anthony Bruce and freshman Chris Hill also finished in double figures. Bruce made 4 three-pointers and notched 18. Hill scored 11 of his 13 points in the opening half.
Senior point guard Chauncey Brashers also hit 2 three-pointers and notched 8. Freshman D.J. Jenkins rounded out the Falcons scoring with a basket as well.
Lutheran East drops to 16-5 on the season with the loss. This was the first ever meeting between the two teams in boys basketball. The Falcons are the 74th different opponent the Leopards have come up against during Head Coach Tom Siegfried’s tenure.
Leopards Join Elite Company with 19 Wins
Siegfried is the first Louisville coach to register 19 or more regular season wins in two separate seasons. The other was the 2014-2015 season in which his Leopards finished the regular season 19-3.
This year’s squad is only the fourth Louisville team to reach 19 regular season victories. The 1992-1993 team was the first to do it finishing 19-1 before advancing to regionals in the postseason. The other was the 2000-2001 team who finished with the only perfect regular season in team history at 20-0.
This year’s Leopards have a chance to tie the 2000-2001 team for most regular season wins when they look for their 20th on Senior Night Friday against Northwest.
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next host the Northwest Indians for Senior Night on Friday, February 16. JV will begin at 5:30 PM, Senior Night will follow, and the varsity game will conclude the night starting around 7:00 PM from Louisville High School.
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Louisville Leopards Vs. Lutheran East Falcons Boys Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 77, FALCONS 65
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Lutheran East 19-14-13-19–65
Louisville 21-24-16-16–77
Lutheran East Falcons Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Jesse McCulloch | 10 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| Anthony Bruce | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| Chris Hill | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Chauncey Brashers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| D.J. Jenkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 7 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 65 |
Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Hayden Nigro | 10 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 31 |
| Beau Siegfried | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| Brayden Gross | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Avery Andrejcik | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Tate Aljancic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Ashton Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 20 | 8 | 28 | 13 | 21 | 77 |
Fouls: 17-10 Lutheran East
Records: Louisville 19-2, Lutheran East 16-5
