CANTON, OH In the Play-by-Play Classic nightcap at the historic Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, the Louisville Leopards defeated the defending state champion Lutheran East 77-65 thanks to a masterful display of mental toughness and teamwork.
Nigro and his talented underclassmen went on a 24 point second quarter surge that left the Falcons down by 12 and a little frustrated going into the half. From the opening tip until the end of the first quarter, Lutheran East looked like the team that went on a state title run just one year before keeping the game close 21-19.
Even though 6’8″ Michigan State commit Jesse McCulloch managed to finish with 24 points on the night, Louisville’s defense of him was masterful, pinching and collapsing him by Brayden Gross and Beau Siegfried. Hayden Nigro, a two-time All-Ohio guard, led with 20 points at the half and 31 by the end of the game and could not be contained.
“We have a lot of mental toughness and a lot of that comes from there so connected they’ve been together for so long were a junior laden team.” said Siegfried.
The fact that Nigro, who plays both attacking and defensively, doesn’t have an offer on the table baffles most people, including Siegfried. Siegfried said, “I don’t know what else he has to do to start getting some offers.”
“Whoever is on the court just play our game, we don’t care how big they are or how huge they are, just keep playing our game,” Nigro said in reference to his team’s mental toughness. In response, Hayden said. When questioned about his desire in attending college, he continued, saying, “I’m talking to a couple coaches; I don’t have an official offer yet.”
