Wildcats hang with state-ranked Ottawa, but come up short
Louisburg junior Madden Rutherford puts up a shot over an Ottawa defender Friday during the Wildcats’ homecoming game.
The Louisburg boys basketball team
needed to play one of its better games of the season Friday when it hosted
state-ranked Ottawa for homecoming.
Ottawa was ranked No. 6 in Class
4A coming into the game and the Wildcats had a big challenge on their hands. As
it turned out, Louisburg was more than ready for the Cyclones.
The Wildcats stayed within striking distance for much of the game, and even trailed by just three points with under two minutes left, but couldn’t get that key shot to go down in a 61-49 loss.
“I was definitely proud with the way
our guys fought and battled and pretty good Ottawa team,” Louisburg coach Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “This was a game we can definitely learn things from and get
better. It seemed like we just couldn’t get that big shot to fall to get the
lead there late, and I know some of the guys are frustrated, but we did some
good things out there.”
Louisburg (7-8) found itself down
six points at the end of the first quarter and the Wildcats lit it up from behind
the arch in the second quarter to cut into the Cyclone lead even more.
Louisburg knocked down four 3-pointers in the frame, including three from
Michael Waldron, who finished with a team-high nine points.
Freshman Julian Margrave also came off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer and senior Noah Hill had a couple big makes under the basket.
“Michael had a really good game
for us and probably one of his best ones,” Pfannenstiel said. “He had a really
great night shooting the ball and did some nice things. Michael, along with Ben
Guetterman, and now Julian, have given us some consistent perimeter shooting
and hopefully some others will be able to step up in that area as well.”
The Wildcats, which trailed 29-24
at halftime, hung around in the second half and threatened the Cyclones late in
the game when senior Brayden Gage knocked down a 3-pointer with 1 minute and 45
seconds left in the game to cut the Ottawa lead to 3.
Louisburg had a chance to tie the game following that possession, but couldn’t get the shots to fall. The Wildcats got good opportunities most of the night thanks to a patient offense.
“We have been much more patient
when we get into an offensive set and that is something that we needed to work
on because sometimes we have gotten out of control,” Pfannenstiel said. “But it
was almost to a fault that we didn’t run enough. Ottawa is kind of a big,
lumbering team and we should have gotten more run outs and we should have
emphasized it more. If we can get back to pushing the ball a little more, it
will add a dimension to our team.”
Defense was another reason the
Wildcats were able to hang around as they switched from a zone defense to a
man, which gave the Cyclones a different look. Louisburg was able to force 14
Ottawa turnovers, which led to some run outs, but the Wildcats missed a few easy
attempts in the first half.
“We got down early and they had a
great plan against our 1-3-1 and they did some things that we haven’t seen yet,”
Pfannenstiel said. “They were able to throw it over the top and find a weakness
in that zone. I was just proud of the way we battled back and we were right
there. I think we missed three easy layups in the first half and you can’t do
that stuff. That would have been huge going into halftime with a lead.
“I was a little worried at
halftime because our energy didn’t seem right, but we picked it up in the
second half we were more aggressive playing man and we were concerned about how
effective we would be in it. I think we proved that we can be confident in it.”
Senior Dylan DeShazer tied Waldron
with a team-best nine points, while Hill and senior Kohl Vogel added eight
points each in the loss.
Louisburg returns to action Friday
for its final regular season road game when it travels to Spring Hill. Tipoff
has been moved up to 6:45 p.m.
LOU 8 16 14 11 – 49
OTT 14 15 15 17 – 61
LOUISBURG (7-8): Dylan DeShazer 4
1-1 9; Michael Waldron 3 0-0 9; Kohl Vogel 3 0-0 8; Noah Hill 3 2-3 8; Julian
Margrave 2 0-0 5; Madden Rutherford 2 0-0 4; Ben Guetterman 1 1-1 3; Brayden
Gage 1 0-0 3. Totals: 19 4-5 49. 3-point field goals: 7, (Waldron 3, Vogel 2,
Gage, Margrave)
LOUISBURG RALLIES TO BEAT BALDWIN
For more than half of the game,
the Louisburg boys basketball team was trying to play catch-up after a bad
start against Baldwin last Thursday.
The Wildcats gave up 21 points in the first quarter and were in a big hole early. Louisburg didn’t let that bad start get them down as the Wildcats battled back to take the lead in the third quarter and eventually pulled away for a 71-61 win in Baldwin City.
Louisburg trailed 21-11 after the
first quarter, but the Wildcat offense picked up as it scored 25 points in the
second and trailed by just four at halftime.
It was the Wildcat defense that
rose to the occasion in the second half as it held Baldwin to just five points
in the third quarter and forced 19 turnovers for the game. Louisburg turned
those 19 turnovers into 24 points, which was key in its comeback.
Kohl Vogel led the Wildcats in
scoring with 14 points and the Louisburg senior also finished with five
assists. Sophomore Weston Guetterman and senior Dylan DeShazer each finished in
double figures with 11, while DeShazer also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Senior guard Brayden Gage also had
a strong game with nine points and six assists. Fellow senior Noah Hill
finished the game with seven points, five rebounds and five assists as nine
different Wildcats scored in the game.
LOU 11 25 14 21 – 71
BAL 21 19 5 16 – 61
LOUISBURG: Kohl Vogel 5-12 4-6 14;
Weston Guetterman 4-9 2-3 11; Dylan DeShazer 4-7 3-3 11; Brayden Gage 2-5 4-9
9; Ben Guetterman 2-6 2-2 10; Noah Hill 3-6 1-3 7; Michael Waldron 2-2 0-0 5;
Julian Margrave 2-2 0-0 4; Madden Rutherford 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 25-54 16-26 71.
3-point field goals: 5, (B. Guetterman 2, W. Guetterman, Gage, Waldron)