by ROCKY RIVER, OH – On a night where Senior Guard Derek Fairley was honored for 500 career assists, Lutheran West controlled the game with its ball movement. The Longhorns notched 22 assists on 37 made field goals. The Euclid Panthers had just 7 on 22 made field goals. Offensively, Jayson Levis paced the Longhorns with 14 points in the game.
Euclid held their own in the opening quarter and kept the game close. Thai Duncan and Ari Jones put in 7 points apiece for the Panthers in the period. Lutheran West’s ball movement on the offensive end was too much for the Panthers defense to handle. The Longhorns dished out 7 assists in the first. Jayson Levis was responsible for 3 of them. He also led the Longhorns with 7 points in the opening quarter. After one, the Longhorns led 28-20.
Lutheran West began to take over the game in the 2nd quarter. Josh Meyer and Tino Yli-Junnila both put up 6 points for the Longhorns in the frame. Josh and his brother Matt Meyer were both hitting the glass as well. Josh worked on the offensive end by earning put back buckets. Matt was cleaning up on the defensive end, not allowing any 2nd chance opportunities for the Panthers. They also dished out 5 more assists as a team. Heading into the break, Lutheran West held a 53-34 advantage.
The 2nd half of the game went as smoothly as it could for the Longhorns on the offensive end. They outscored the Panthers 24-14 in the 3rd quarter. Everyone began to get involved for Lutheran West. The 2nd unit continued what the first unit started. Every guy went for loose balls and hustled to make plays on the defensive end.
Thai Duncan and Ari Jones continued to put in work for the Panthers. Duncan was leading the Panthers in scoring heading into the 4th with 16. Jones was not far behind with 13 points.
By midway through the 4th quarter, every Longhorn player that suited up had gotten an opportunity and made the most of it. Each player for Lutheran West had scored and tallied at least 1 rebound or assist in the game. In the final frame, the Longhorns had pushed the game to a running clock situation. They outscored the Panthers 18-13 in the final quarter. At the final buzzer, the Lutheran West Longhorns pushed their record to 19-2 with a 95-61 victory.
Next up for the Longhorns are the Chaney Cowboys on Saturday, February 24th at 6 pm.
Key Players
Lutheran West:
Jayson Levis – 14 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists
Jakaris Shelton – 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists
Josh Meyer – 12 points, 4 rebounds
Euclid:
Thai Duncan – 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Ari Jones – 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Myckel Davis – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
PLAYER OF THE GAME – JAYSON LEVIS
