Wildcats come up short in season opener at Tonganoxie

Louisburg junior Weston Guetterman gets fouled while going up for a shot Friday during the Wildcats’ season opener at Tonganoxie High School.

TONGANOXIE – The Louisburg boys basketball team got off to the start it was looking for as it jumped out to an early lead over Tonganoxie in its season opener.

It all seemed to be going smoothly for the Wildcats, but the second quarter changed all that. Tonganoxie went on a run before halftime and it was the difference in Louisburg’s 56-47 loss Friday at Tonganoxie High School.

In the other three frames, the two teams played about even, but the one stretch in the second proved to be too much for the Wildcats to overcome.

“You never know what you are going to get first time out,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We have a lot of guys either first time starting or first time playing on varsity. I was proud of the way we started the game. We looked confident and we were playing with good energy. We really looked like that the whole game, but sometimes the ball goes in the hoop and sometimes it doesn’t. When you look at it stat-wise, both teams were fairly comparable.”

The Wildcats, which shot 32 percent for the game, didn’t show that in the opening quarter as they looked crisp offensively. Weston Guetterman, Julian Margrave, Michael Waldron and Konnor Vohs each hit shots to give the Wildcats a 15-12 lead going into the second quarter.

Tonganoxie took control in the second quarter as it outscored Louisburg 18-10 before halftime and the Wildcats found themselves down, 30-25.

Baskets from Ben Guetterman and Margrave kept the Tonganoxie lead at three midway through the third quarter, but the Chieftains ended the frame on a 7-1 run to go up nine points.

It was too much to overcome for the Wildcats. Weston Guetterman made a basket to cut the Tonganoxie lead to four with three minutes left in the contest, but the Wildcats could get no closer.

“They went on a little run and they knocked down some big shots that got them the momentum and they were able to keep that lead the rest of the time,” Pfannenstiel said of Tongie’s second quarter. “We have to be able to find ways to score and not just rely on outside shots. We need to take the ball to the hoop a little bit more. We have to find a way to scrap for offensive rebounds and get some put-backs too.”

Sophomore Julian Margrave led Louisburg with a double-double as he had a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also recorded four blocks on the defensive end.

Weston Guetterman provided a steady hand for the Wildcats at the point guard spot. Guetterman was in double figures in scoring with 14 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists.

In all, the Wildcats were able to take care of the ball as they committed just five turnovers on the night, but they just couldn’t get the shots to fall.

“Weston played with confidence out there,” Pfannenstiel said. “He has the ball in his hand a little bit more this year as last year he was more off an off-guard. This is more of a natural spot for him and he does a good job of controlling the tempo of the game for us.

“I thought we did a great job of taking care of the ball and we didn’t have many turnovers. We only had like (five) turnovers for the game and we normally have that in the first quarter. That has to be a record in my three years here. That was nice to see.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back to get its first win tonight when it travels to face off with Burlington. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOU               15           10           7             15 – 47

TON              12           18           11           15 – 56

LOUISBURG (0-1): Julian Margrave 7-18 0-0 15; Weston Guetterman 4-10 5-10 14; Ben Guetterman 2-9 3-4 7; Michael Waldron 2-7 1-2 6; Konnor Vohs 2-6 0-0 4; Garrett Rolofson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 17-54 10-18 47. 3-point field goals: 3, (W. Guetterman, Waldron, Margrave)

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