Wildcats down Tonganoxie to win season debut

By Andy Brown
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Updated: December 3, 2018

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Noah Hill gets ready to go up for a basket against two Tonganoxie defenders Friday in the Wildcats’ season opener. Hill finished with 12 points in the Wildcats’ win.

Winning just two games a season ago, the Louisburg boys basketball team wanted to make sure history didn’t repeat itself this year.

After one game this season, the Wildcats are well on their way to not letting that happen and showed they are a much different team from a year ago.

Louisburg used a big second half offensively as the Wildcats came away with a 58-47 win Friday over the Chieftains at Louisburg High School. It was the way the Wildcats’ had hoped to start their season.

“It was a great win,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I thought our kids competed hard, played with a lot of emotion and we had fun out there. Obviously, having a little success allows you to play a little more confident. Our goal was to be 1-0 at the end of the night and I thought we played pretty well for our first game out. It was exactly what we wanted.”

The Wildcats did have overcome some adversity along the way as they had to deal with foul trouble throughout the game and it forced different players to step up.

Junior Madden Rutherford put the Wildcats on his back in the first half as he scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the first two quarters. He added 13 rebounds to stat line and finished with a double-double.

Rutherford also scored all eight of Louisburg’s points in the second quarter and was active on both ends of the floor.

“He is a competitor and an athlete,” Pfannenstiel said. “He played hard and he played to his strengths quite a bit. I thought this time out Madden was exactly what we needed. He played with a lot of energy and really did a great job rebounding the ball for us.”

Senior Noah Hill, who also finished in double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds, gave the Wildcats a spark early on as he scored six quick points in the first quarter to help Louisburg get out to a 16-7 lead.

Madden Rutherford (left) celebrates with Ben Guetterman (22) and Weston Guetterman after Ben made basket and was fouled on Friday.

The Wildcats went through a dry spell in the second quarter as they scored one point in the final four minutes of the half, but they still held a 24-21 halftime lead.

Foul problems helped contribute to that as point guard Brayden Gage had it sit most of the game and Pfannenstiel relied on sophomore Weston Guetterman, who was playing in his first varsity contest.

It worked out well as the Wildcats bounced back to open the second half on a 7-2 run. Senior Kohl Vogel widened the lead even more as hit a pair of 3-pointers, and junior Michael Waldron followed with another to put Louisburg up 38-27 late in the third quarter.

Vogel had a big second half as he scored 11 of his 15 points late to help the Wildcats secure a big first victory.

“We went through a little spell in the second quarter where they got some momentum and we were in foul trouble,” Pfannenstiel said. “We had some different guys in there, but we were able to weather that storm and come out and play well in the second half. It was good team basketball and it wasn’t a one-man show. Everyone did their part and it was very unselfish basketball.

“Brayden never really got into the rhythm of the game because of fouls, but Weston Guetterman, in his first varsity game, did a great job and we couldn’t take him off the floor the first three quarters because of that foul trouble. Almost everyone who was out there had some foul trouble and it was a little dicey there for a while. We had some kids step up on the bench and Kohl had a really nice game scoring the ball.”

The Wildcats put the game away in the fourth quarter when Hill scored two quick baskets and Vogel knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats back up by double figures and they never looked back.

Louisburg will try and make it two wins in a row Tuesday when it hosts Burlington. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 16 8 18 16 – 58

TON 10 11 12 14 – 47

LOUISBURG (1-0): Madden Rutherford 6-12 4-10 18; Kohl Vogel 5-14 2-3 15; Noah Hill 4-4 4-7 12; Dylan DeShazer 3-5 0-0 6; Michael Waldron 1-1 0-0 3; Ben Guetterman 1-2 0-1 2; Weston Guetterman 0-1 1-2 1; Brayden Gage 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 21-41 12-25 58. 3-point field goals: 6, (Vogel 3, Rutherford 2, Waldron)