by ROCKY RIVER, OH – The Lutheran West Longhorns continued their undefeated season Wednesday night with a victory over the University School Preppers. The Longhorns were led by their starting 5 who all scored in double figures on the night. Tino Yli-Junnila led the way with 18 points.
In the first quarter, the University School Preppers were firing on all cylinders. Five of their six made field goals came from 3-point range. With 4:46 left, Alec Congdon knocked down his second triple of the quarter that gave the Preppers an 11-8 lead. Lutheran West was hanging in however as Matt Meyer and Derek Fairley led the charge. Meyer was a menace in the paint in the first quarter dropping in 6 points. However, Fairley led the team in scoring with 7. Three of which came on a 3-ball to beat the first quarter buzzer. After the 1st, the Longhorns held a 20-17 lead.
The University School Preppers relied more on their ball movement and inside game in the 2nd quarter. Justin Belcher was leading the charge by attacking the paint when the opportunity was given to him. The Longhorns continued to mix it up on the offensive end. Their ball movement seemed to ease the difficulties of the Preppers’ hard-nosed defense. They got open 3s from Dylan Bartchak, Jayson Levis, and Tino Yli-Junnila while also attacking the paint. Heading into the break, the Longhorns were clinging to their 3-point lead by a score of 37-34.
The 3-point lead that the Longhorns were carrying into the second half, quickly ballooned to double digits. Lutheran West was dominant offensively and defensively in the 3rd quarter. With just under 5 minutes to play in the quarter, Lutheran West held a 47-41 lead. In the next 2 minutes and change, they burst out an 8-0 scoring run to go up by 14. The run was eventually ended by the Preppers with a 3-ball from Aditya Nalla with 2:35 left in the quarter. With the Longhorns outscoring the Preppers 23-10 in the 3rd quarter, they propelled their lead to 60-44 entering the final frame.
University School’s deficit was too much to make up despite knocking down 12 3-pointers on the night. Tino Yli-Junnila came to life in the 4th dropping in a team-high 11 points in the quarter. The Preppers were only able to knock down 3 field goals in the 4th all of which came from the 3-point variety.
After dominating the whole 2nd half, the Lutheran West Longhorns came out on top 77-55.
The Lutheran West Longhorns (7-0) will travel to Garfield Heights for the NEO Christmas Classic on Saturday to take on the Glenville Tarblooders (5-2). Tip-off is scheduled for 4:15pm EST. The University School Preppers (4-2) play host to the Riverside Beavers (1-4) on Friday night in a Freshman/JV/Varsity triple-header.
Key Performers
Lutheran West
G Tino Yli-Junnila: 18 points
F Matt Meyer: 17 points
G Derek Fairley: 14 points
University School
G Justin Belcher: 22 points
G Alec Congdon: 11 points (3 3-pointers)
Player of the Game
Lutheran West G Derek Fairley
