by Akron, OH- Lutheran East improves to 4-0 on the year with a 77-66 victory over Holy Name aided by their ability to turn defense into offense.
The first quarter started off extremely quickly. Within 2 minutes, the Falcons found themselves with a 9-6 lead. For the Green Wave, it was Max Bollin who led the way in the first as he drained two triples to begin the game. For The Lue, it was Jesse McCulloch who started off quick with 5 points. The first quarter kept going back and forth with Lutheran East’s biggest lead being 7. Holy Name was able to cut into it down the stretch as they went into the second quarter down 5, or so they thought. As the players left the court at the end of the quarter, a late foul was given against the Falcons which sent Bollin to the line. He proceeded to sink both to give himself 10 points heading into the second with the Green Wave down 23-20.
Lutheran East started to pull away in the second quarter, but the Green Wave battled back. Holy Name had a few opportunities to tie the game back up, but McCulloch’s defense near the rim was impeccable. He had plenty of blocks and rebounds while committing only a singular foul. Beyond that, he was fouled plenty of times. Really, it was only Bollin who had any sort of answer for him offensively as he drained two 3’s with McCulloch’s hand in his face. Holy Name’s defense also held McCulloch to 2 points in the second which gave him 9 going into the half. Leading the rebounding effort was Joe Lewis who tipped a few down to Bollin. The exciting scoring of the first quarter slowed down as The Lue outscored Holy Name 16-10 in the second. This gave them 39-30 heading into the locker room.
The second half began with the true emergence of McCulloch along with Anthony Bruce. McCulloch started to have everything click more than it already had as he was unstoppable on both sides of the ball. He scored 8 points in the third quarter. These buckets combined with Bruce who drilled three 3 pointers. Pierce would end the game with 14 points. Ronald Taylor was also able to add 2 points of his own which gave him double figures on the night. Holy Name’s only answers came from a few field goals along with two 3’s from Bollin and Humenik. Heading into the fourth, The Lue led 64-48.
The fourth quarter brought similar results for both teams. However, the Falcons lost Alan Mallory who fouled out of the contest with 8 points. However, Chris Hill was able to get himself into double figures as he got to the 10-point mark in the fourth. For Holy Name, varsity newcomer Brody Boyert picked up where he left off as he sunk two from Downton. This would give him 6 points on the night, taking his average to 7.5 ppg this season. Speaking of averages, this contest takes Drew Styers to 20.3 ppg on the year as he posted 20. Finally, Bollin posted a game high 24 points, taking him to 18.3 ppg. However, the Falcons proved to be too much for the Green Wave as they would go on to lose 77-66 and drop to .500 at 2-2.
Now, this is the part where I would usually give extra analysis. Today, it is time to talk about Jesse McCulloch. The 6’9 Michigan State bound forward posted 20 points tonight. However, there is much more to him than that. In talking to his parents following the game, I came to realize Jesse and his family are true class acts. The Spartans have a bonafide star and a true leader on and off the court. He believes The Lue can repeat as state champs, and it looks like there’s a great chance he’s right.
Holy Name Key Players:
#3 Drew Styers: 20 Points
#4 Max Bollin: 24 Points
#12 Adam Humenik: 9 Points
Lutheran East Key Players
#0 Anthony Bruce: 14 Points
#1 Chris Hill: 10 Points
#35 Jesse McCulloch: 20 Points
Player of the Game: Jesse McCulloch
