Despite slow start, Wildcats roll Baldwin

Louisburg senior Weston Guetterman drives to the basket for two of his team-high 19 points Friday against Baldwin.

It wasn’t the start the Louisburg boys basketball team had hoped for Tuesday against Baldwin.

Baldwin scored the first eight points of the game to take a decent sized lead, but it was the way the Wildcats finished that more than made up for the slow start.

The Wildcats scored 27 points in the fourth quarter and held the Bulldogs to 28 points in the final three quarters to pick up a 70-41 win at Louisburg High School. It was Louisburg’s third straight victory since its season opening loss to Tonganoxie.

“We definitely struggled out of the gate getting down 8-0, but managed to work our way back into it,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We were pretty effective defensively all night, but it took us awhile to get things going offensively. Defense has to be a constant each night. There will be nights that things don’t go your way offensively, but if you play well defensively, you’re always going to have a shot.”

It was the defense that sparked the Wildcats when they didn’t have their best night offensively.

Louisburg forced 20 turnovers on the night that turned into 27 points and outscored the Bulldogs in transition, 18-0. The Wildcats also controlled the glass as they outrebounded Baldwin 44-31.

“We want to really pressure teams with our defense,” Pfannenstiel said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of that the last few games. If we can make teams uncomfortable, that usually results in some turnovers that can jump start our offense. 

“I thought we are pretty good on both ends in the second half. I really liked the tempo of the game in the second half. That’s how we want to play this year. Our hope is that our style will wear teams down late in games. So far it’s been positive for us.”

Down 8-0 to open the game, it was senior point guard Weston Guetterman that helped bring the Wildcats back. Guetterman scored eight straight to tie the game and then Maverick Rockers knocked down a 3-pointer to complete the 11-0 run.

The Wildcats (3-1) were down two points going into the second quarter and it would be the last time they trailed.

Louisburg took a 10-point lead into the final quarter and then the Wildcats took off as they outscored Baldwin 27-8 to end the contest. The Wildcat did a lot of their damage inside as they outscored the Bulldogs 40-10 in the paint.

Guetterman led the Wildcats in scoring as he had a good night from the field. He finished with a game-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals.

Two other Wildcats also scored in double figures. Junior Michael Seuferling scored 15 points, while senior Ben Guetterman added 12 points and six rebounds.

Junior Julian Margrave was big on the glass for Louisburg as he pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds and added two steals and a block.

“Weston has been great for us all year,” Pfannenstiel said. “He really sets the tempo for us and picked us up offensively. It was a good team win. Everybody contributed and played great team basketball. Time to get back to the practice court and prepare for the next one.”

That next one is tonight when the Wildcats travel to Shawnee Mission East for the final game before the holiday break. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

LOU 11 13 19 27 – 70

BAL 13 9 11 8 – 41

LOUISBURG (3-1): Weston Guetterman 8-16 2-3 19; Michael Seuferling 6-12 2-3 15; Ben Guetterman 3-11 5-6 12; Maverick Rockers 3-6 0-0 7; Julian Margrave 3-13 0-1 6; Dawson Barnes 2-2 0-0 4; Konnor Vohs 1-2 1-1 3; Andy Hupp 1-1 0-0 2; Isaac Guetterman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 28-64 10-14 70. 3-point field goals: 4, (Seuferling, W. Guetterman, Rockers, B. Guetterman) 

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