Louisville’s Brayden Gross cashes in on a first half turnover by Aiken in Friday’s Division III finals game at UD Arena. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Louisville wins its first ever title, withstanding a furious second half comeback effort by Aiken High School to claim the Division III title.
Dayton, OH – The 103rd OHSAA boys basketball tournament got underway with a bang Friday afternoon with Louisville High School, from Stark County, winning the Division III title, 63-61, over Cincinnati Aiken.
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Louisville, making its first appearance at the state tournament, built up a monster first half lead on its three-point shooting (64%), then held on in the second half to survive a furious comeback effort from Aiken after leading 38-19 at halftime.
Aiken’s James Burnett’s shot at the horn came up short…Louisville survived to win the Division III title.
Louisville (24-5) finished the game with 63.6% from three-point range, but took only 18 shots in the second half, working the clock and taking advantage of their huge halftime lead.
Tate Aljancic led the Louisville scoring with 17 points, while teammates Beau Siegfried and Avery Andrejcik finished with 14 each.
Aiken’s James Burnett finished with 23 points, and had a three-quarter court heave at the horn that would have given the Falcons the win. But his shot was long and wide, assuring the Leopards from Louisville and Stark County a happy ride back to northern Ohio.
The game attracted 7,178 people, the largest crowd for an OHSAA basketball finals game in the Pickerington-Centerville Division I final in 2022.
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