State-ranked Eudora rolls past Louisburg

Louisburg senior Brady Lambeth and the Wildcats couldn’t keep up with Eudora on Friday in a 77-34 loss. Lambeth finished with nine points.

EUDORA – For the second straight game, the Louisburg boys’ basketball team faced off with a state tournament team from a year ago and had to do so with two starters on the bench with injuries.

Eudora, the No. 5 ranked team in Class 4A-Division I, had the Wildcats’ number from the opening tip Friday as the Cardinals took care of Louisburg 77-34 in Eudora. Earlier in the week, the Wildcats fell to Paola on the road as well.

The Wildcats (4-11) were without starters Corbin Wertz and Mitchell McLellan again due to injury. McLellan is out for the season with a broken leg, while the Wildcats hope to have Wertz back soon from a leg injury.

“When you’re as inexperienced as us, to play without two starters is a tremendous negative and we knew without Corbin and Mitchell finding points would be tough,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said.

It was difficult, especially early as Eudora put together a huge run to outscore Louisburg 29-2 in the first quarter and the Wildcats were never able to recover.

Eudora sophomore Mitchell Ballock, one of the top players in the state, put on a show in front of his home crowd as he finished with a game-high 25 points, including six 3-pointers.

“The resiliency of our boys was commendable,” Nelson said. “Playing in Eudora, against a state ranked team, with the best player in the state is a daunting task for the most seasoned of varsity players. We consistently had three [or] four sophomores on the court and despite the slow start for us and lightening quick start for them, the boys never backed down.

“In the near future, when we look back at our improvement, I suspect that this game will be watershed for us. Our sophomores played in a high intensity, hostile environment and despite the score, they never backed down.”

One of those sophomores, Grant Harding, led the Wildcats in scoring for the second straight game with 10 points to go along with six rebounds. Senior Brady Lambeth added nine points for the Wildcats, while fellow senior Nathan Moore led the team with eight rebounds.

The Wildcats will try and rebound this Friday when they host Ottawa for homecoming. Louisburg also expects to have Wertz and his 20-plus points per game back in the lineup.

“Our boys are awaiting Corbin’s return with open arms and we are all eagerly anticipating his return,” Nelson said. “I know he’s tired of listening to our staff on the bench.”

Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG                2             12           11           9 – 34

EUDORA                      29           18           21           9 – 77

LOUISBURG (4-11): Grant Harding 5-10 0-2 10; Brady Lambeth 4-8 0-1 9; Jacob Welsh 2-6 2-2 6; T.J. Dover 2-5 1-2 5; Sam Guetterman 1-4 0-0 3; Nathan Moore 0-1 3-4 3. Totals: 14-39 6-11 34. 3-point field goals: 2, (Guetterman, Lambeth)