Wildcats’ rally falls short against Metro Academy

By Andy Brown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: February 22, 2019

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg sophomore Weston Guetterman drives to the basket during the second half of Tuesday’s game with Metro Academy.

Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty Pfannenstiel was a little conflicted Tuesday following the Wildcats’ game with Metro Academy.

On one hand, his team rallied from 25 points down to cut the Metro Academy lead to one late in Louisburg’s 63-60 loss. Pfannenstiel was more than pleased with his team’s fight.

However, as pleased as he was with how his team finished, the Louisburg coach was just as frustrated with the start as the Wildcats managed just 15 first half points and were on the verge of having a running clock in the second half.

“That was a really good comeback,” Pfannenstiel said. “I wasn’t sure if we should be excited that we fought all the way back or that we should be mad that we came out so flat. I think it was disappointing how we started the game, but I thought we did a lot of nice things to get back in it and had a lot of guys that sparked us. We went with the hot hand and that group in the fourth quarter really carried us.

“We struggled to score early and sometimes our energy is sparked when we see the ball go through the hoop and sometimes it is getting the right guys on the court at the same time.”

The Wildcat underclassmen gave the team the spark they were looking for as several of them made big baskets down the stretch to get Louisburg back in it.

Junior Michael Waldron led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, as he keyed the Wildcat comeback along with a few others. Freshman Julian Margrave came off the bench to also finish in double figures with 13.

Madden Rutherford was able to help the Wildcats on both sides of the ball as he finished with eight points and had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (four). Sophomores Ben Guetterman and Weston Guetterman added seven and six points, respectively.

Early in the contest, the Wildcats weren’t able to get in a rhythm offensively and Metro Academy took advantage. Metro knocked down eight 3-pointers in the contest, many of those coming in the first half, and took a 32-15 halftime lead.

“We were standing around and watching, not crashing the board and not moving without the ball,” Pfannenstiel said. “I thought we were better in the second half. The gym was completely quiet early on and we didn’t do a good job of communicating early. There were times where I didn’t know what offense we were in because the guards weren’t getting us set up. It was a weird start to it that is for sure, but those things add up.”

The Wildcats will try and end their regular season on a good night tonight when they host Paola. It is also Senior Night for Louisburg as the Wildcats will honor Brayden Gage, Noah Hill, Dylan DeShazer and Kohl Vogel for their time with the program.

“Our kids always get up for the Paola game and they are going to be excited,” Pfannenstiel said. “Winning this game is important because we want to send our seniors out on a good note, but also to have some momentum going into sub-state. We want to enter the postseason with as much confidence as we can.”

LOU 9 6 19 26 – 60

MA 20 12 16 15 – 63

LOUISBURG (8-11): Michael Waldron 4-8 2-2 14; Julian Margrave 6-11 0-0 13; Madden Rutherford 2-6 3-3 8; Ben Guetterman 2-4 3-3 7; Weston Guetterman 1-4 4-5 6; Kohl Vogel 2-12 0-0 4; Brayden Gage 2-4 0-0 4; Noah Hill 1-1 2-4 4. Totals: 20-54 14-17 60. 3-point field goals: 6, (Waldron 4, Rutherford, Margrave)