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Gates Mills, Ohio – Saturday night featured a contest between two of the top teams in Northeast Ohio. It was similar to a back-and-forth heavyweight fight from start to finish.
But Lutheran East held on to win on the road, capturing a 62-57 victory over host Gilmour Academy.
Chauncey Brashers started off the game hitting from long range. Jamail Spivey followed with a layup.
After a Ryan Mueller basket, Devin Belle and Jesse McCulloch hit a layup and three, respectively. This increased the Falcon lead to 10-2. Later, Cody Head, Devin Belle, and Jamail Spivey added baskets, increasing the Lutheran East lead to 16-2.
But Gilmour Academy would counter their run with a run of their own to get back in the game.
Thanks to baskets from Dorjan Flowers, Nathan Nootbaar, and Ryan Mueller, the Lancers went on a 11-4 run. This cut the Lutheran East lead to 20-13 at the end of the first.
Adisa Molton converted a layup and an and-one to continue the Lancer run going into the second quarter. But junior Cody Head countered with a three of his own.
Gilmour went on a 9-2 run including the Molton layup to trim their deficit to 23-22 with 4:51 left in the second quarter.
Cody Head hit a three, and Nathan Flaherty countered with a three of his own.
In a game of runs, Lutheran East went on a 10-2 run to close out the half. Thanks to three pointers by Cody Head and Chauncey Brashers, the Falcons took a 36-27 lead going into the half.
The third quarter featured runs by both teams.
The Lancers went on a 9-0 run to tie the game back up at 36 with 3:21 left in the third. This was in part due to back-to-back-to-back triples from Nathan Flaherty and Ryan Mueller.
The momentum swung back-and-forth like a pendulum. This time, it swung in favor of Lutheran East. The Falcons responded with an 8-0 run. Baskets from Cody Head, Chauncey Brashers, and Devin Belle had a huge part in that run.
Gilmour responded with another run, this one 11-2, to take their first lead of the game, 47-46 late in the third.
But a Jesse McCulloch slam gave the Falcons the lead after three.
Lutheran East managed to hold off Gilmour down the stretch thanks to timely free throws from Chauncey Brashers and Jesse McCulloch. The Lancers stayed in the game, but missed free throws down the stretch proved to be costly in the end.
Lutheran East (10-7) hosts St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Wednesday night. Junior guard Cody Head had 17 points, followed by sophomore guard Chauncey Brashers’ 15.
Gilmour Academy (14-3) saw their seven game winning streak come to an end. They travel to Garfield Heights next Tuesday evening. Junior guard Brandon Rose had 13 points to lead the Lancers, followed by senior Nathan Flaherty’s 12.
Check out extended highlights below:
