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TWINSBURG, Ohio– Playing in the team’s first playoff game away from Lutheran East High School, the Falcons took some time to get adjusted to playing on the road Tuesday night.
That adjustment was fueled by a second quarter where they outscored Cardinal Mooney 25-5, propelling them to a 74-31 win in the Division III, Region 9 semifinal.
“This is not our guys’ first time playing away from different hoops,” Jalen Knott said after scoring a team-high 18 points during the win. “We’ve been working on our game, in the weight room to getting shots up so it’s paying off now.”
As a team, Lutheran East connected on 12 3-pointers. Senior forward Jared Larry, Sirr Hughes and Jalin Billingsley each scored in double figures, helping lead the Falcons back to another regional championship appearance.
“Like I said before at the beginning of the season we were a very selfish team,” Knott said. “Now everybody wants to buy in and we’re playing to have fun now, playing free.”
The start of the game was slow for both teams. Just three total points were scored in the first four minutes of the game as both teams were in a zone defense. Three combined field goals and 12 total turnovers headlined an opening quarter where Lutheran East hung onto a 9-4 lead.
That’s when the game started to get out of reach for Cardinal Mooney.
Jared Larry opened the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter scoring six of the team’s first 10 points on two 3-pointers and the Falcons swiftly gained a 15-point lead early in the second quarter.
Jared Larry has six of the team’s last nine points to get the Falcons out to a 19-4 lead with 5:26 left in the first half. pic.twitter.com/c0VJGucO5Y
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 9, 2021
From there, they used another series of runs to really open the game up. The Falcons ended the final five minutes of the first half on a 15-4 run to head into halftime with a comfortable 34-9 lead.
@JalenKnott04 ends the first half with a 3-pointer, giving Lutheran East a 34-9 lead at the break.
The Falcons out-scored the Cardinals 25-5 in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/6wmadsb6iJ— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 9, 2021
“I thought they came out with a strategy, they tried to slow the game down and make us work,” coach Sam Liggins said. “We work so hard all week in practice to make sure we stay disciplined, don’t gamble and switch tight when we do switch and understand that they want to slow the game down but we have to control the pace of the game.”
Forward Michael Pelini did all he could to help spark a second half comeback, but Lutheran East had an answer for every bucket. The forward contributed with nine of the team’s 17 third-quarter points, but the Falcon lead stood at 29 points after three quarters.
For the game, Pelini finished with a game-high 19 points along with six points from Mick Hergenrother. The lead never got lower than 15 points for Cardinal Mooney throughout the second half, as experience behind a senior-laden team helped Liggins and his team down the stretch.
“Experience is the best teacher,” Liggins said. “Guys that just have confidence, guys that aren’t nervous and guys that understand the moment are probably going to have a better shot at being successful in these kinds of games.”
“We didn’t come out nervous and I feel like everybody was excited to play,” Knott added. “We all have one goal. We’re used to this and I feel like it’s an expectation with the team and we’re making it.”
