LEOPARDS SEIZE DISTRICT CROWN

Contributed By Noah Ricks

ASHTABULA, OH – The student sections were packed on both sides at Ashtabula Lakeside as Howland and Louisville squared off for the second time this season. It was a highly anticipated district final as Louisville was trying to avenge a 71-65 loss to the Tigers on January 11th. Leopards coach Tom Siegfried knew what he had to do. He drew up an unstoppable game plan on both sides that paid off as Louisville dominated throughout most of the night and beat Howland 63-56 for their first district title since 1993. Siegfried took time to soak in the district victory

“Obviously it feels pretty good and just excited for these kids. They put a lot of work into it. It came from the program, and it’s really paying off tonight, so hopefully we can make tonight last for a long time.”

The game plan that Siegfried wrote was very strong in the first half as some good ball movement around the perimeter set up open looks for three point shots. It was exactly the right time for the Leopards players to have hot hands as they kept making shot after shot from beyond the arc. That kind of shooting helped set up a 38-point first half for Louisville. Learning from the lessons of the first meeting, Siegfried reflected on his adjustments.

“Well, we just guessed that they were going to box-and-one Will [Aljancic] again, so other guys had to step up, we had to share the ball. I thought Tyler [Boldon] and Hayden [Nigro], and honestly the whole team did a real nice job. Charlie [Roberts] hit a three, BG [Brayden Gross] did some good things underneath, and then Beau [Siegfried] came in and AJ [Lingenhoel] came in and did a nice job, so it was just a team effort.’’

The Leopards had a great guard game from players such as seniors Will Aljancic and Tyler Boldon and sophomore Hayden Nigro. They were the bread of the butter of the offense throughout the night. Boldon and Nigro paved the way for the three-point fest while Aljancic had a good dribble-drive game. They would all finish in double figures for the night. Siegfried was proud of how hard those three played.

“You know, I think it was just the idea of sharing the ball. I think they really realized, like, whoever the open guy was tonight, we’re going to trust each other and hit those open shots. Early on, it was Tyler, then it became Hayden a little bit. Will got his points as usual, but overall I think they just found the open guy tonight, and it really clicks. When he does that, you’re really hard to beat.”

The Tigers would claw their way through the deficit throughout the entire second half, and they gave Louisville a huge fight. Howland would start off the third quarter on a quick 6-0 run to cut the lead back down to 12. The rally was led by no other than senior Anthony Massucci. He gave everything he had to make it a game, including one stretch late in the fourth where his draining three pushed the game down to as little as seven. Massucci finished his final high school basketball game with 32 as Siegfried respected the kind of competitor his opponent’s top scorer was.

“Well, honestly, just holding him down a little bit in the first half was huge. He’s a great player, one of the best players in the state, there’s no question about it, and, you know, I just thought us getting off to a good start and hold him down, you see what he can do in the third and fourth. He’s a scorer in about five different ways and I just really give him a lot of credit and I hope he has a great future in basketball.”

The Leopards improve to 19-6 with the victory. They will claim their first district championship in 29 years as they will square off in the Regional Semifinals on Thursday against the winner of the CVCA-Glenville district final game tomorrow night. That game is slated for an 8:00 P.M. tip down at the Canton Civic Center. Siegfried and his team will pay attention to both teams as whoever wins helps determine the game plan.

“Well, we have got to figure out who it is. They’re both completely different teams, so, we’ll go over and watch tomorrow [at the Canton Fieldhouse] and see who we’re playing, and then we’re going to get after it again. I told the guys before the game, this isn’t the third of three, this is the first of three, and we want to go to Columbus or Dayton or wherever [the State tournament] is at this year.”

Howland ends a strong campaign at 15-10 with their first district final appearance since 2004. This has been the farthest that coach Dan Bubon has gone in the tournament in his six seasons of coaching the Tigers. YSN’s Noah Ricks would like to thank Coach Bubon, the five seniors heading out in Anthony Massucci, Cam Miles, Grant Brown, Gabe Bedea, and Bobby Sullivan, girls’ coach Aaron Pounds, the seniors on the girls’ team in Alyssa Pompelia, Jamie DeSalvo, Taylor Lawrence, and Catherine Gaiski, and the entire Howland community for their hospitality throughout the entire season. It truly has been fun watching the community get together and support their teams on the hardwood. He wishes both teams the best of luck next year as they will both look to go on deeper runs into the tournament.

Ricks also got a chance to talk to winning coach Tom Siegfried following tonight’s district victory. You can watch the full interview below.