The Falcons have passed the mid-way point of the season and stand at 9-3. The team is getting buzz in online state polls and looks poised for a long tournament run. With big games to come over the next few weeks against VASJ, East Tech, Cornerstone Christian, Shaw, Western Reserve and more the 2nd half of the season should be a great tune-up for the playoffs. Below you can see recaps of the first 12 games of the season with photos from many of them.
Thursday Dec. 3rd. Lutheran East vs. Lake Ridge Academy
Thursday night kicked off the 2015 season for the Lutheran East Falcons boy’s basketball team, as they hosted Lake Ridge Academy. There was high anticipation for the start of the season for the Falcons as they return four starters from their 2014-15 team. The Falcons came in to the season with one goal. “Bring the State Championship Trophy back Lutheran East.
The Falcons started the game very aggressive led by sophomore guard Alex Heath who finished with a game high 21 points. Sophomore Forward Keandre Graves finished with 15 points and junior Julian Hicks chipped in 13 points in route to 87-56 victory for the Falcons. Next up for Lutheran East is #1 North East Ohio ranked Garfield Heights who returns four division 1 starters. This will be a big test for a young falcon’s team.
Friday Dec. 4th. Lutheran East vs. Garfield Heights
The Lutheran East boys basketball traveled to #1 ranked Garfield Heights on Friday night. The falcons started the game off hot with a 10-2 run to start the first quarter. Slowly the Falcons would see their lead crumble as they went into halftime with a 3 point deficit. After a back and forth third quarter the Falcons were outscored by 10 in the 4th quarter and suffered their first loss of the season with a final score of 73-57. The falcons were lead in scoring by Donald Mccain who scored 16 points. Keandre Graves chipped in 15 points and Alexander Heath added 14 points. Next up for the falcons is a home game against Christian Community School.
Tuesday Dec. 8th. Lutheran East vs. Community Christian
Lutheran East looked to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday night to Garfield Heights as they host Community Christian School. The falcons started off extremely aggressive reaching out to a quick 14-5 lead to start the first quarter and never looked back. The falcons won this game easily with a final score of 96-39. Lead scorers on the game were Donald Mccain 18 points, Julian Hicks 14 points, Tyler Powell 12 points, Derrick Veasley Jr. 11 points, Kaylin Heard 10 points and DaAndre Bateman 10 points. Next up for Lutheran East is an away game vs. Brunswick High School who is ranked #12 in the Northeast Ohio polls.
Saturday Dec. 12th. Lutheran East vs. Brunswick
Lutheran East suffered its second loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion with a 73-44 loss to Brunswick High School. The falcons were without starting sophomore point guard Alex Heath for the entire game and looked upon backup point guards Derrick Veasley Jr. and Tyler Powell to pick up the slack. But Brunswick’s superior ball movement and shooting ability proved to be too much for the falcons on this night. Lutheran East was lead in scoring by Donald Mccain who had 24 points, and was the only player to reach double figures for the falcons. Next up for Lutheran East is a home game against Collinwood High School on Thursday Dec. 17th.
Thursday Dec. 17th. Lutheran East vs. Collinwood
The falcons hosted Collinwood High School on Thursday night here at Falcon Gymnasium. The game was evenly played for most of contest until roughly the five minute mark of the 4th quarter when Collinwood saw its lead blossom to 9 points. But thanks to some timely three point shooting by senior captain Donald Mccain, the falcons tied the game at the end of regulation to force overtime. It was there where the falcons decided to show their grit and got a defensive stop on the final play of the game which gave the falcons a 3 point victory. Lutheran East got a huge night from Donald Mccain who scored a game high 35 points while his teammate Keandre Graves scored 23 points to help lead the Falcons. Next up for Lutheran East is a conference game against Fuchs Mizarachi.
Tuesday Dec. 29th. Lutheran East vs. Fuchs Mizarachi
Lutheran East boys basketball team won it’s 4th game of the season with a 92-43 victory over conference opponent Fuchs Mizarachi. The falcons were lead in scoring by team captain Keandre Graves who chipped in 24 points. Also scoring in double digits were sophomore guard Alex Heath who added 12 points and senior Donald McCain added 11 points respectively. Next up for the Falcons is a home game against fellow division 4 opponent Maplewood.
Tuesday Jan. 5th. Lutheran East vs. Maplewood
The first game of 2016 was a home game for the falcons as they hosted Maplewood High School. The falcons started off fast as they got out to an early 15-6 lead. Behind hot shooting from Donald Mccain and Alex Heath. the falcons lead at half 42-21. The second half was much of the same as the falcons outscored Maplewood 36-27 and sealed their 5th win of the season with a final score of 78-48. Next up for the Falcons is a road game against conference opponent Fuchs Mizarachi.
Saturday Jan. 9th. Lutheran East vs. Fuchs Mizarachi
The falcons took the road to face conference foe Fuchs Mizarachi. The falcons went into the game very confident having beaten this same team by 49 points just one week prior. The falcons were shocked by how aggressive Fuchs came out start the game, and after one half of play the falcons found themselves tied at 35 apiece. After making a few small adjustments at halftime the falcons outscored the Mayhem 42-22 in the second half and won the game with a final score of 77-57. The falcons had a very balanced scoring night with 4 guys in double figures. Keandre Graves 13 points, Alexander Heath 12 points, Donald McCain had 11 points and Julian Hicks added 11 points as well. Next up for Lutheran East is a home game vs. Open Door Christian School.
Tuesday Jan. 12th. Lutheran East vs. Open Door Christian
The Lutheran East Falcons hosted the Open Door Christian Patriots in a game that the falcons had circled on their calendar after suffering a six point loss to this team the previous year. With strong shooting and flashy finishes by Donald McCain (21points) and Keandre Graves (15points), the Falcons dismantled the Patriots 93-44. The falcons also received 11 points from true freshman Kaylin Heard. The falcons will now get prepared for their final home against the Whitney Young Warriors before heading to Warrensville Heights.
Thursday Jan. 14th. Lutheran East vs. Whitney Young
After suffering a heart breaking two point loss to Whitney Young last year, the falcons look to get revenge as they host the warriors in this battle of division IV hopefuls. From the opening tip off all the way until the final buzzard, sophomore Keandre Graves and senior Donald McCain dominated the basketball game. Keandre scored a season high 32 points while Donald McCain notched 25 points with a pair of high rising slam dunks that really got the crowd going. Lutheran East won the game by a final score of 87-75 and earned their 8th win of the season. After a 4 day break the falcons are back on the road where they will play the #24 ranked Warrensville Heights Tigers.
Tuesday Jan. 19th. Lutheran East vs. Warrensville Heights
The falcons came into tonight’s contest with an overall record of 8-2 and winners of 6 in a row. The falcons have had a season long mission of being ranked in the plain dealer top 25. Before tipoff of tonight’s contest, the falcons were sitting on the bubble and were ever so close to accomplishing that goal. They knew if they won tonight, there was a great chance it would happen.
The falcons started off flat and went down 8-2 early in the contest. But sophomore guard Alex Heath put on one of his best performances of the season and scored 13 of his 20 points in the third quarter giving the Falcons a nine point lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Warrensville Tigers led by senior guard Brandon Peters tied the game at the end of regulation and forced overtime. Down 72-69 with seven seconds left Alex Heath would have one final chance to tie the game for the falcons. Heath shot a pull up three pointer as time expired that missed wide left and the falcons suffered a heartbreaking 72-69 loss. This falcons will now look to bounce back with a home game against fellow division IV rival St. Martins.
Thursday Jan. 21st. Lutheran East vs. St. Martin De Porres
The falcons look to bounce back from their devastating road loss to Warrensville Heights as they host the visiting St. Martin De Porres.
From the opening tip, the falcons controlled this game as they completely dominated on the defensive side of the ball. The falcon’s relentless ball pressure caused turnover after turnover which led to easy baskets for them all night. Lutheran East arguably played their best game of the season winning in easy fashion with a final score of 100-43. Lutheran East had six different guys in double figures. Junior guard Tyler Powell (24 points), senior guard Donald Mccain (17 points), sophomore forward Keandre Graves (15 points), sophomore guard Alex Heath (12 points), sophomore guard Derrick Veasley Jr. (10 points), and junior forward Julian Hicks (10 points). Next up for the falcons is a home game against Shaw High School.