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Turnover woes plague Wellington as Lutheran East captures Division IV title

By Zach Fleer, 03/25/17, 4:15PM EDT

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Lutheran East won its second state title in program history on Saturday

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Despite leading 15-6 at the end of the first quarter, Wellington had already committed 10 turnovers. Those same turnovers would come back to bite Wellington late, as the Jaguars committed 26 in total in a 43-38 Division IV state title loss to Lutheran East. 

Scoring nine points and committing 13 turnovers in the second and third quarters, Wellington gave up a 23-9 run from Lutheran East to head into the final frame trailing 29-24. Trailing by as much as nine points in the fourth quarter, Wellington would show some life late, getting as close as three with 15 seconds to go.

Despite its top player fouling out in the fourth quarter, Lutheran East would hold tight in the final minutes, securing its first state title since 2005 and second in program history.

Leading the way for Lutheran East was junior forward Jordan Burge, who scored a team-high 13 points. Senior guard Tyler Powell and junior guard Travis Sanders each added eight points for the Falcons. 

For Wellington, the Jaguars end its second-straight season with a loss on the floor of the Value City Arena. Shooting just 34 percent from the field and 50 percent from the line, Wellington was even worse taking care of the ball, committing a tournament-high 26 turnovers. 

Senior post Dustin Harder led all scorers with 14 points and adding 11 rebounds, while no other player would add more than seven points. Junior wing Solomon Pierre-Louis started out hot, hitting his first three shots to score six points in the first quarter but would only score one point the rest of the way. Junior forward Noah Berry added seven points and nine rebounds for the Jags. 

Wellington enjoyed a 39-29 advantage on the boards, but its inefficiency came back to bite them late. Converting on just one of 11 three-point field goals, Wellington could not hit the shots it needed to secure its first state title in program history. 

With three seniors moving on after this season, Wellington will attempt to win a third-straight regional title next winter. 

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