Leopards Avenge District Semi Loss, Handle Walsh 56-44 – Boys Basketball
#2 Louisville 56, Walsh Jesuit 44
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The Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Basketball Team downed the visiting Walsh Jesuit Warriors 56-44 Friday Night at Louisville High School. Louisville as now won 9 straight and improves to 10-1 on the season, its best start since the undefeated season of 2000-01.
Varsity Recap | Varsity Box Score | JV Box Score
Nigro Pours in Game High 21 for Leopards
Senior guard Hayden Nigro made 3 three-pointers and scored 16 of his game high 21 points in the second half to lead the Leopards.
Walsh took its only lead of the second half when senior Joe Sitarz scored in the lane while being fouled. His make from the line put the Warriors ahead 27-25 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
Nigro quickly erased the Walsh lead with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession via an assist from junior point guard Beau Siegfried. That triple gave Louisville a 28-27 lead and kickstarted a 7-0 Leopard run. Junior forward Brayden Gross pulled down an offensive board on the next LHS possession and put it back in for two more. Then junior guard Tate Aljancic found fellow junior guard Ashton Marshall for another score to put Louisville ahead 32-27.
Walsh answered back with two quick baskets to cut the deficit to 32-31, but Nigro had an answer once again. Nigro took the ball on the left wing and dribbled toward the point. Gross provided a pick at the top of the key and that left Nigro just enough room to nonchalantly bury a three-pointer from the top of the arch to increase the Leopard advantage to 35-31.
Louisville would take a 38-35 lead into the fourth quarter, but drive and score by senior small forward Sean Spicer got the Warriors back to within 38-37 in the opening minute of the third quarter. Right on cue, Nigro popped open in the right corner and responded with his third three-pointer in less than 7 minutes of game time. The long ball put the Leopards up 41-37 with 6:39 to play. Nigro would go on to finish with 10 points in the final stanza.
Courtside with Sammy B & Lee Audio Broadcast
Four Finish in Double Figures for Louisville
Gross stole a pass on the next possession and slammed it home on the other end to increase the Leopard advantage to 43-37. One of the referee’s called a technical foul on Gross for hanging on the rim. Louisville Head Coach Tom Siegfried as well as the Leopard faithful were outraged by the call, but it may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The Louisville players were fired up following the call and would outscore Walsh Jesuit 13-6 the rest of the way.
Gross would finish with 8 of his 14 points in the second half. Marshall also dropped in 11. Siegfried hit a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter and hit a pair of clutch fourth quarter free throws to reach double figures with 10. Siegfried also unofficially registered 4 assists in the contest.
Leopards Overcome Woes at the Line
Siegfried’s consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter was the only pair made by Louisville all evening. The Leopards shot just 9-of-22 (41%) from the line and missed at least one shot on their other 11 trips to the charity stride.
Despite this, Louisville still walked away with a double digit victory over the foe that knocked that out of the tournament last season.
Spicer Scores Team High 15 for Warriors
Spicer scored 14 of his team high 15 points from the floor to lead the Warriors. Senior power forward Sam Weber also finished in double figures with 10 points from the field. Senior point guard Jesse James rounded out the Walsh scoring with all 7 of his points coming in the opening quarter.
The Warriors drop to 5-4 with the loss.
Louisville Avenges Tournament Loss to Walsh
Louisville is now 2-1 against Walsh Jesuit all-time with this being the first meeting between the two teams played at Louisville High School. The Warriors edged the Leopards 49-48 in the DI Northeast 3 District Semifinals last year at Euclid’s Harold “Doc” Daugherty Gymnasium. Louisville also defeated Walsh 47-36 in the 2018 Greynolds Classic held at Barberton High School in their first ever meeting.
<<< Previous 2023 | Walsh All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next take on the Woodridge Bulldogs on the Spectrum Orthopaedics Classic on Saturday, January 13. Game time is set for 6:00 PM from North Canton Hoover High School.
Cover Photo By: The Louisville Herald
Full Game Broadcast By Straggat Media Network
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Walsh Jesuit at Louisville Boys Varsity Basketball Statistics
LEOPARDS 56, WARRIORS 44
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Walsh Jesuit 11-13-11-9–44
Louisville 17-5-16-18–56
Walsh Jesuit Warriors Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTA | FTM | Points |
| Sean Spicer | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| Sam Weber | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Jesse James | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Tyler Bell | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Joe Sitarz | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Grant Blascak | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 44 |
Louisville Leopards Boys Varsity Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTA | FTM | Points |
| Hayden Nigro | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 21 |
| Brayden Gross | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| Ashton Marshall | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| Beau Siegfried | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| TOTAL | 16 | 5 | 21 | 9 | 22 | 56 |
Fouls: 18-11 Walsh Jesuit
Records: Louisville 10-1
JV: Louisville 58, Walsh Jesuit 46
JV Statistics
LEOPARDS 58, WARRIORS 46
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Walsh Jesuit 11-6-17-12–46
Louisville 16-15-15-12–58
Walsh Jesuit Warriors Boys JV Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTA | FTM | Points |
| Anthony Spain | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Grant Blascek | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Noah Silverstein | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Raiden Edge | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Owen Weber | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| David Jacobous | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Justin Bell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Bekar Kahooke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 14 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 46 |
Louisville Leopards Boys JV Box Score
| Player | 2PT | 3PT | FG | FTA | FTM | Points |
| Zack Boldon | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 22 |
| Cohen Rogers | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Luke Boldon | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Brock Leghart | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Colton Norris | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Trevor Burick | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Colton Dougherty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Gabe Stoffer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 7 | 11 | 18 | 11 | 20 | 58 |
Fouls: 15-9 Walsh Jesuit
Records: Louisville 5-3
