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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio– Thirty points apiece from Jalen Knott and Jay Billingsley helped pave the way for a 103-68 win for Lutheran East over West Salem Northwestern Friday night in the Division III, Northeast District 4 championship game.
The win gives the Falcons its sixth consecutive district championship, something coach Sam Liggins appreciates a little more this year playing throughout the novel coronavirus.
“It’s just a blessing,” Liggins said. “These don’t come around often. We have a goal to win every year and nothing is guaranteed.”
Knott scored a game-high 32 points, connecting on six 3-pointers during the win. It’s been a long process for the 6-foot-3 guard to get to this point and Liggins believes the previous two years have helped him get to this stage, making sure he takes full advantage of his opportunities shooting the ball.
“That’s what he’s been doing all year,” Liggins said. “That kid works so hard and I’m just proud of him. He has four district championships and that’s rare for a high school kid.
“It’s almost like every game he’s hot,” Billingsley said about Knott’s six 3-pointers. “So when he’s shooting like that, it makes it easier on the rest of us because we know it’s going in when he gets it.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Falcons early on. Northwest was able to keep it close early on, even taking a lead midway through the first quarter.
Max Carlson gives Northwestern its first lead of the game, 11-9, with 4:25 left in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/g13hfpso8J
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 6, 2021
That would end up being their only lead of the game as the Falcons ended the final four minutes of the first quarter on a 17-8 run.
For most of the second quarter, the Falcons were able to maintain a double-digit lead as three different players scored at least five points to close out the first half.
Larry connects with Knott to put the Falcons up 18 in the first half, their largest lead of the game. pic.twitter.com/bT4EuzT7CE
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 6, 2021
However, as they did often throughout the first half, the Huskies continued to chip away. Senior guard Will Schaad had 13 points in the second quarter alone and finished with 23 points in the game’s first 16 minutes to put his team down 12 at halftime.
That’s as close as the Huskies got at making a comeback as the Falcons opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run in just under four minutes. The lead got as high as 24 points in the third quarter as Billingsley dominated inside the paint, scoring 14 points in the third quarter alone to head into the fourth with a commanding 77-55 lead.
“They were getting a lot of open looks in the first half,” Liggins said. “In the second half, we just said no more full-court pressure, play them within the half-court and make them contest every shot. That’s what we did and we were able to get a couple stops in a row to open up the lead.”
Knott explained that experience and leadership played a big role in the runs his team made throughout the third quarter to really open up the game for players like Billingsley and Jared Lary inside the paint.
“It takes experience,” Knott said. “We got a lot of seniors on this team and we all want to win states. We got to learn how to adjust, we’re going to hit a bump in the playoffs and it’s not going to be easy so we got to learn how to adjust and that’s what we did.”
Larry ended the night with 12 points followed by 11 from Sirr Hughes. For Northwest, Schaad ended his high school career by scoring a team-high 31 points. Max Carlson and Brett Alberts each had 11 to round out the scoring for the Huskies.
Missed opportunities and a size disadvantage played the biggest role in the Falcons’ second-half runs that really put the game out of reach for Northwest.
It’s been a season of growth for Liggins and his team throughout the last couple of months. The way his senior-laden team has responded to the adversity thrown their way has allowed them to make it to the regional stage for a sixth consecutive year.
“These guys wanted it and they are really hungry,” Liggins said. “We put on the board every single game to be the more desperate team.
“At the beginning of the season I felt like we were very selfish as a team,” Knott added. “Now we’re growing together and we want to win so I think we’re all coming together now.”
