Defense sparks Wildcats to first victory

By Andy Brown
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Updated: December 8, 2017

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Ben Minster draws a foul in the lane against Baldwin on Tuesday during the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Baldwin High School. Minster led the Wildcats with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

BALDWIN CITY – The first two games didn’t unfold the way new Louisburg head coach Ty Pfannenstiel had hoped.

One ended in a double-figure loss to a state-ranked Pittsburg team, and in the other, Louisburg struggled from the field in a close loss to Burlington to open the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic.

Needless to say, the Wildcats helped make up for those losses in a big way Tuesday as they picked up their first win of the season in a 65-51 victory in the second round of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Baldwin High School.

The Wildcats got the victory thanks to their defense as that helped spark a big third quarter run that helped widen their lead to double digits over the Bulldogs.

“It was a much-needed win for us and our kids played hard,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I thought our defense was good all night, but we took it to a different level in the third quarter. When we get out and guard and get in passing lanes, that’s going to lead to some transition points, which needs to be one of our strengths this season.”

Up by just three points midway through the third quarter, the Louisburg defense came to life and helped spark a 16-6 run to end the frame the give the Wildcats a 49-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Seniors Desmond Doles and Justin Sievert had to back-to-back steals that led to easy layups in transition and gave them a 42-32 lead.

Louisburg had a balanced scoring effort as it had three players score in double figures. Senior Ben Minster recorded a double-double led the Wildcats with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Doles and Sievert each finished with 13 to go along with seven and six rebounds, respectively. Senior Dalton Ribordy finished just missed double figures with eight points.

Desmond Doles goes up for two of his 13 points in a win Tuesday over Baldwin.

Defensively, Minster led the Wildcats with four steals and Sievert added three. As a team, the Wildcats forced 17 Baldwin turnovers.

“We were balanced offensively,” Pfannenstiel said. “Ben, Justin and Dez did a great job of attacking the rim. Again, their defensive pressure led to a lot of those buckets.”

Except for the first few minutes of the first quarter, Louisburg held the lead the entire way starting when Brayden Gage broke open a tie game with a 3-pointer early.

Louisburg built at 25-17 lead in the second quarter, before Baldwin went on a mini 7-2 run to end the frame to cut into the Wildcat lead.

Doles and Ribordy opened the second half with back-to-back baskets and the Wildcat defense took care of the rest as they held Baldwin to just 31 percent from the floor.

Louisburg will try for its second straight win tonight when it travels back to Baldwin for the final game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic against Anderson County. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

LOU 14 15 20 16 – 65

BAL 12 12 12 15 – 51

LOUISBURG (1-2): Ben Minster 14, Justin Sievert 13, Desmond Doles 13, Dalton Ribordy 8, Brayden Gage 5, Parker Perentis 4, Dylan DeShazer 4. Totals: 23 15-28 65. 3-point field goals: 3, (Gage, Perentis, Sievert)

Wildcats come up short against Burlington

Louisburg almost picked up its first win of the season Monday when it opened the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic against Burlington, but the Wildcats struggled from the field in a 40-35 loss.

Although the Wildcat defense held Burlington to just 35 percent from the floor and forced 16 turnovers, Louisburg struggled on the other end as it shot just 31 percent despite getting out to a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Senior Ben Minster led the Wildcats in scoring with 13 points and fellow senior Desmond Doles finished the game with nine. Doles also had four steals on the defensive end to lead Louisburg.

“I thought we played pretty well defensively, but we have to find ways to score,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We just really struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities.”

The second quarter wasn’t a friendly one for the Wildcats as Burlington took the lead back as it outscored Louisburg 16-6 before halftime. It turned out to be the difference in the contest.

LOU 13 7 7 8 – 35

BUR 7 16 9 8 – 40

LOUISBURG: Ben Minster 13, Desmond Doles 9, Justin Sievert 5, Dalton Ribordy 4, Parker Perentis 3, Dylan DeShazer 1. Totals: 14 4-8 35. 3-point field goals: 2, (Sievert, Perentis)