Wildcats come up short on Senior Night to De Soto

By Andy Brown
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Updated: February 22, 2018

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Dalton Ribordy puts up a shot in the lane during Wednesday’s home game against De Soto. Ribordy was one of five seniors honored during Senior Night.

The Louisburg boys basketball team had hoped to make its Senior Night a little more special by pulling off an upset of De Soto on Wednesday.

It was already a memorable one as the Wildcats honored its five seniors – Ben Minster, Justin Sievert, Dalton Ribordy, Parker Perentis and Desmond Doles – following the contest. Unfortunately, Louisburg wasn’t able to a win in its final home game of the season in a 57-40 defeat.

With the victory, De Soto earned a share of the Frontier League title as it improved its record to 11-7 on the season.

“We didn’t get out to a very good start,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “De Soto has some very good guards and they shot it really well. We have to do a better job of contesting shooters and making them work for their shots.

“I thought our guys off the bench came in and gave us a good spark with their energy and intensity. We are getting some decent looks offensively, but we have to be more consistent with getting them to go in.”

The difference of the game proved to be on the perimeter.

Louisburg seniors (from left) Dalton Ribordy, Justin Sievert, Ben Minster, Desmond Doles and Parker Perentis were honored Wednesday during Senior Night.

De Soto connected on 11 3-pointers as it jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game and the Wildcats struggled to climb out of that hole. As good as De Soto shot it, the Wildcats struggled from behind the arch as they went 0-for-12.

Despite those struggles, the Wildcats still worked to get in the ball inside and got several good looks. Louisburg’s offense came to life in the second quarter as it scored 16 points in the frame, but De Soto stayed sharp offensively itself and led 34-23 at halftime.

Minster led Louisburg in scoring with 11 points and four rebounds, while Doles finished with eight points. Ribordy and junior Dylan DeShazer each scored seven points in the loss.

Although the game ended in a loss, the team honored its five seniors following the game and Pfannenstiel knows how much they have meant to the program.

“I have been very proud of our seniors,” Pfannenstiel said. “They are hard workers and most importantly, they are good kids. Our motto is we preach making a commitment to the program and having good character. These seniors have done everything we have asked of them.

“I know all five of them will go on to be successful in life because of the characteristics that they have. We hope that the experiences they have learned while playing basketball for Louisburg High School can be used to help them in their journey. I just want to thank our seniors for representing our school and community the right way.”

Louisburg will try to end its regular season on a good note Friday when it travels to Paola for its final game before sub-state. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 7 16 8 9 – 40

DES 17 17 9 14 – 57

LOUISBURG (2-17): Ben Minster 11, Desmond Doles 8, Dalton Ribordy 7, Dylan DeShazer 7, Madden Rutherford 4, Kohl Vogel 2, Justin Sievert 1. Totals: 14-40 12-19 40. 3-point field goals: none