Louisville Captures Third District Title in Program History, Nixes Northwest 62-36 – Boys Basketball
#4 Louisville 62, #10 Northwest 36
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The #4 seed Louisville Leopards Boys Basketball Team took down the #10 seed Northwest Indians 62-36 in the DIII Northeast 6 District Championship Saturday Night at North Royalton’s Herman L. Joy Gymnasium. With their seventh straight victory, Louisville improves to 20-5 on the season and punches its ticket to regionals for the second time in four years. The Leopards will challenge the Columbus St. Francis DeSales Stallions in the DIII Region 11 regional semifinals on Tuesday, March 4 at 6:00 PM from the Ohio Expo Center.
Siegfried Scores Game-High 21, Becomes Career Three-Pointer Leader
Beau Siegfried scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Leopards. Siegfried also dished out a game-best 9 assists, snagged 7 rebounds, and recorded 3 steals.
Siegfried hit 2 of his 3 three-pointers in the opening quarter that saw Louisville build a 20-0 advantage from the onset. With his second trey, he became the Leopards’ all-time career three-point leader passing Will Aljancic who hit 175 three-pointers from 2019-2023. Siegfried also hit Louisville’s only three-pointer in the second half, the 177th of his career.
Siegfried was also successful in converting three-point plays from inside the arc. Twice in the fourth quarter he scored while being fouled at the basket and twice he converted the traditional three-point play from the line. He would finish with 8 points in the final period as the Leopards rolled to Columbus.
Aljancic Scores 16, Ends 1st Half on Cliffhanger
Tate Aljancic scored in every quarter and finished with 16 points. He also recorded 7 assists, tallied 7 rebounds, and registered 2 blocks.
Aljancic’s resilience on the glass at the end of the first half allowed the Leopards to take a 32-13 lead into the locker room. Louisville missed three shots in the final seconds, and Aljancic grabbed two of the three offensive rebounds. He put back the final carom to beat the buzzer and the physics of it left the capacity crowd on a cliff-hanger.
Aljancic’s shot bounced off the glass and tight-rope bounced off the rim at least eight times. The ball nearly came to a standstill on the back of the rim before falling through the net.
Gross Scores 13 After Hot Start
Brayden Gross scored the first six points of the game and finished with 13. He also had a game-high 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.
The Leopards came out firing on all cylinders, scoring the first 20 points of the game before Northwest finally got on the board in the final minute of the first quarter. Gross didn’t score again until the second half, where he added his final 7 points. The Leopards edged the Indians 11-10 in the third quarter and outscored Northwest 19-13 in the final stanza to take home their second district championship in four seasons. Gross put an exclamation mark on his night with a powerful two-handed slam dunk midway through the fourth quarter, extending Louisville’s lead to 54-31.
Ashton Marshall also scored 7 points to go along with 4 rebounds. Avery Andrejcik scored all 4 of his points in the first quarter and Cohen Rogers came off the bench to add the Leopards’ final point from the free throw line. Louisville ended with its largest margin of the game, 26 points.
Pennington Leads Indians with Team-High 16 Points
Tristan Pennington scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead Northwest. Pennington also had a team-high 4 rebounds and a steal.
Tyler Pappas scored the Indians’ only first-quarter points and matched Chase Badger with eight points for the game. Caleb Hyrne and Parker Kraft also got on the board with two points each. Hyrne also tallied 2 assists and led the defense with a pair of blocks.
Northwest, the undefeated and outright Principals Athletic Conference champions, finishes with a final record of 18-7.
Louisville Vs. Northwest Basketball Series
The Leopards have now defeated the Indians in five straight matchups dating back to 2022. Louisville also won at Northwest 79-54 earlier this season on February 11.
The Leopards are now 36-23 against the Indians all-time, which includes a 5-2 record in the tournament. Louisville fell to Northwest 67-61 in their previous postseason meeting at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse in 2011. The Leopards last defeated the Indians in the postseason in a 67-56 sectional overtime thriller in 2008, the first year under Head Coach Tom Siegfried.
<<< Previous 2025 | Northwest All-Time Series
Leopards Claim Third District Championship in Program History
The district championship is the third in team history. Louisville defeated Triway 57-49 for their first Division II district title at the Fieldhouse in 1993. The Leopards also defeated Warren Howland 63-56 up at Ashtabula Lakeside in 2022, the first district title under Coach Siegfried that eventually led to the program’s first regional final appearance.
Louisville is now 68-91 in the postseason dating back to 1932. This marks only the fifth time in program history that the Leopards have won three tournament games in a single season (1992, 1993, 2022, 2024 were the others). The Leopards are now 20-17 in the tournament under Coach Siegfried, and 11-3 in the postseason in their last four seasons.
<<< Vs. Cuyahoga Falls | Tournament History
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next challenge the Columbus St. Francis DeSales Stallions in the DIII, Region 11 Regional Semifinals on Tuesday, March 4. Game time is set for 6:00 PM at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.
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Louisville Vs. Northwest Boys Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 62, INDIANS 36
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Northwest 4-9-10-13–36
Louisville 20-12-11-19–62
Northwest Indians Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Tristan Pennington | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| Chase Badger | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Tyler Pappas | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Caleb Hyrne | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Parker Kraft | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Kellan Reinford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 10 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 36 |
Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTM | FTA | Points |
| Beau Siegfried | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 21 |
| Tate Aljancic | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Brayden Gross | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| Ashton Marshall | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Avery Andrejcik | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cohen Rogers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 21 | 5 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 62 |
Fouls: 19-19
Records: Louisville 20-5, Northwest 18-7
