by ROCKY RIVER, OH – With an OHSAA District Tournament berth on the line, the Lutheran West Longhorns left no doubt in their Section Final matchup. Senior Guard Jayson Levis led the way for the Longhorns with 26 points. Levis was on fire from the opening jump on Friday night.
Early in the first, Jayson knocked down his first shot of the night with a 3-ball from the left wing. From then on out, Levis would score at will for the rest of the quarter. He added another triple along with multiple tough finishes at the basket that would increase his scoring total to 14 in the quarter. The Shaw Cardinals were keeping it close, however.
Senior Guard Andrew Spinks led the way for the Cardinals in the first with 6 points coming off multiple mid-range jumpers. Zyaire Chaney and Hunter Graham would each score 4 points for Shaw in the period. However, with the scoring outburst from Jayson Levis, the Cardinals trailed 23-14 after one.
Shaw’s Zyaire Chaney was going shot-for-shot with Lutheran West to start the 2nd quarter to keep the game close. The Longhorns held a 27-19 lead with just over 6 minutes to play. That is when the Longhorns opened the floodgates. Lutheran West would proceed to go on a 29-3 scoring run to close out the quarter. Nine players contributed to the 33-point quarter for the Longhorns. Sophomore Kendyll Compton led the scoring in the quarter with 7 points off the bench. Jayson Levis continued to add to his total as well. He pushed his scoring total to 21 points in the 1st half.
“Not necessarily just shooting the ball but playing the game the right way” Levis said on what worked in the first half. “Whatever came to me I took advantage of, and I think I did that pretty well in the first half” he continued. Heading into the break, the Longhorns held a 56-22 lead.
Jayson Levis was not the only member of the Longhorns that had a special night. Late in the 3rd quarter, Senior Guard Tino Yli-Junnila knocked down a 3-pointer that gave him 1,000 points for his High School career. Tino gave a humble response when asked about what 1,000 points means to him, “It feels good. It just shows that you can do a lot if you put your mind to it and put in the hard work. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates looking to get me that shot.”
Those 3 points would be the biggest of the 2nd half. Scoring was at a premium in the final 2 quarters as the Longhorns pushed the score to running-clock territory. Lutheran West outscored Shaw 16-12 in the 2nd half.
A bright spot for Shaw was Junior Guard Zyaire Chaney. Chaney was the lone scorer in the 2nd and 4th quarters for the Cardinals that pushed him to his team-high 17 points.
At the final buzzer, Lutheran West walked out with a dominant 72-34 victory and punched their ticket to the District Tournament.
Head Coach Jordan Duke had this to say on what it means to get back to Districts, “We are trying to take it one game at a time and try to make sure that we stay focused on the moment and preparing for each and every game like it’s our last… Being able to get these guys back to Districts is a blessing.”
With their Section Final win, the #1 seeded Lutheran West Longhorns advance to play the #28 seed Jefferson Area Falcons at North Ridgeville High School. The game will be played on Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm.
Key Players
Lutheran West:
Jayson Levis – 26 points, 4 3-pointers
Tino Yli-Junnila – 11 points, 1,000th career point
Matt Meyer – 10 points
Shaw:
Zyaire Chaney – 17 points
Andrew Spinks – 6 points
Hunter Graham – 6 points
PLAYER OF THE GAME: JAYSON LEVIS
