Wildcats win at buzzer for second straight game

SPRING HILL — For the second time in three days, Louisburg had the ball in its hands with a chance to win.

And for the second time, the Wildcats found a way to pull out a win — at the buzzer.

With Louisburg down by one point in overtime, senior T.J. Dover pulled down a rebound off a Grant Harding miss and scored as the buzzer sounded to give the Wildcats a 43-42 win Friday at Spring Hill High School.

On Tuesday against Baldwin, the Wildcats had their first buzzer-beater win when junior Dalton Ribordy broke a tie game with a game-winner of his own.

“I would rather just do things right the first time and not get in these close games to where we have to win in the last second, but I really do love these boys,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “This is the second time they just decided they weren’t going to lose.”

Both teams struggled to break free from one another, especially in the overtime. Dover gave Louisburg a three-point lead in the extra period as he scored five straight points, but Spring Hill rallied back to eventually tie and take the lead on a free throw from Jordan Hoston with less than minute left.

Louisburg (8-10) called a timeout to set up a play with nine seconds left, and while it didn’t work to perfection, it certainly did the job.

Senior Jayce Geiman got the ball on the inbound pass, sent it over Harding who drove the basket. The shot missed but Dover was there to corral the rebound and put it in off the backboard to give the Wildcats their second straight win.

“I was just looking for any loose ball,” Dover said. “We obviously just wanted to get the ball in Grant’s hands for the last shot and we were just looking to rebound if he missed and we were able to clean it up. The same thing happened in the last game. Everyone is just stepping up now and it seems like it is coming together at the right time.”

It was a tough game offensively for both teams as they struggled to get into any kind of rhythm. The Wildcats shot just 39 percent from the field and also struggled from the free-throw line, where they were 4-for-13 for the game.

Still, the Wildcats made that one extra play they needed to secure a big win against a possible postseason opponent in two weeks when Louisburg returns to Spring Hill for the Class 4A substate tournament.

“Tuesday was a manifestation of poor defense, and this time was a manifestation of poor free-throw shooting,” Nelson said. “We were 4 of 13 from the line and most of them were missed front ends of one-and-ones.

“I thought we played fantastic at times in the second half and in overtime. The first half we were a little bit slow offensively, but credit to the kids they found a way to win.”

The lead changed hands four times in the second half and Louisburg turned a three-point deficit into a one-point lead late in the third quarter on a basket from Ribordy and senior Jake Hill.

Spring Hill grabbed the lead right back to start the fourth and built a 36-32 lead midway through the quarter, but the Wildcats cut into the lead on a made shot from Ribordy. Louisburg then used its defense late to tie the game when Geiman knocked a Spring Hill pass away and threw it to teammate Sam Guetterman who had an easy layup with a minute left.

The game eventually went into overtime and Dover scored seven of his nine points in the extra period, including the game-winner, to help give Louisburg the win.

Geiman and Harding each scored in double figures with 10 points to lead the Wildcats, while Ribordy added eight points and five rebounds.

“It was exciting,” Dover said. “It was huge to get this game, especially after losing to them the first time at our place. We know what we need to do to win, and now that we figured out how to win those games, it is all about fixing the small stuff like free throws and not giving up offensive boards. When we get that stuff figured out, then I am excited to see what we can do for substate.”

Louisburg will have two more regular season games left before the postseason and it begins Tuesday when it travels to De Soto. The Wildcats will host rival Paola on Friday for senior night.

 

LOU               7             12           11           6             7 – 43

SH                  9             10           10           7             6 – 42

LOUISBURG (8-10): Grant Harding 10, Jayce Geiman 10, T.J. Dover 9, Dalton Ribordy 8, Sam Guetterman 4, Jake Hill 2. Totals: 18-46 4-13 43. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 3)