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NORTH RIDGEVILLE, OH – In a game that was a tale of two halves for Lutheran West, the Longhorns came out victorious in their D2 District Semi-Final game. Senior guard Jayson Levis carried the load tonight by pouring in 20 points to go along with 3 boards and 4 assists.
Coming in as heavy underdogs, #1 seed compared to #28 seed, the Jefferson Area Falcons kept the game close early. The play of Anthony Covetta and Dylan Beebe paced the Falcons on the offensive end. Joe DeGeorge battled inside grabbing 4 rebounds in the opening quarter.
Despite the tough play from Jefferson Area, Lutheran West was leading after the first. Jayson Levis led the way with 4 points in the quarter. Tino Yli-Junnila added a 3-ball for the Longhorns. Lutheran West got multiple good looks at the basket but could not get their shot going early. After one, the Longhorns held a 10-9 lead.
Senior forward Joe DeGeorge began to take over for the Falcons in the 2nd quarter. DeGeorge put up 9 points in the frame to go along with his 6 first half rebounds. However, Jayson Levis and the Longhorns were able to get their shot going a little in the 2nd. Levis scored 7 points himself in the quarter to increase his scoring total to 11 at the break. Junior forward Josh Meyer contributed 6 points of his own in the quarter. At the half, the Longhorns led 29-24.
After a hard-fought first half, the Longhorns pulled away in the 3rd quarter. Levis continued his outstanding performance by putting up 9 more points in the frame. He extended his game-high total to 20 points. The Longhorn’s defense keyed in as well in the period as they allowed the Falcons to score just 5 points.
“Once we understood our rotations a little bit with guys out, and once we understood what we were trying to do, I thought defensively we had a couple of miscues [in the first half] that led to them getting some shots and open looks. We did a good job correcting it at half time and we stepped our intensity up defensively in that third quarter I thought” stated Head Coach Jordan Duke following the win. Lutheran West outscored Jefferson Area 21-5 in the 3rd to take a 50-29 lead heading into the final frame.
The Longhorns controlled most of the 4th quarter to put the game away. Some sloppy play in the final minutes helped Jefferson Area cut the lead, but it was too little, too late. Lutheran West came out on top in the end with a 65-44 victory to advance to the D2 Region 6 District Finals.
The Longhorns will await the winner of #24 Warren Howland vs #36 Rocky River. The District Final game will be held at North Ridgeville High School on Saturday, March 9th at 4pm.
Key Players
Lutheran West:
Jayson Levis: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Tino Yli-Junnila: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Matt Meyer: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Jefferson Area:
Joe DeGeorge: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
Anthony Covetta: 12 points, 2 rebounds
Dylan Beebe: 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists
PLAYER OF THE GAME: JAYSON LEVIS
