Wildcats fall to Shawnee Mission East in final game before holidays

Louisburg senior Dawson Barnes goes up for two points during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats fell to Shawnee Mission East on Thursday, 74-50.

With its next opponent, Piper, in quarantine due to COVID-19, Louisburg worked to find an opponent the Wildcats could play before the holiday break.

The Wildcats found a talented one in Shawnee Mission East. Louisburg traveled to the Lancers on Thursday and went up against the No. 7 team in Class 6A. Louisburg quickly found out why they are one of the teams to beat in the state’s largest classification.

Shawnee Mission East took a 12-point lead at halftime, but it extended it even more in the second half and the Wildcats fell, 74-50.

“SME was a good challenge for us,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Their length and ball pressure caused us some problems, but I thought we competed hard. It was a much more physical game in how it was called, so it took our boys a while to adjust to that style of play. We probably won’t see another team with that much size across the board, but I think we will definitely learn from this game. 

“East is ranked in 6A for a reason. They’ve got a nice team. When you play against good teams, they expose your weaknesses. We have some things we need to clean up and work on moving forward. We are definitely better for having played a good team like them”

Senior point guard Weston Guetterman provided a bulk of the Wildcat offense as he scored nearly half of the team’s points. Guetterman finished with a team-high 23 points and also had two assists and a pair of steals.

Junior forward Julian Margrave also had a big game for the Wildcats as he added 17 points and seven rebounds. Michael Seuferling and Ben Guetterman each had five points to round out the Louisburg scoring.

The Wildcats (3-2) still found themselves in the game and were only by 12 at halftime, but the Lancers’ offense had the Wildcats on their heels as they scored 44 in the second half to pull away.

Louisburg will now have the challenge of going on a long winter moratorium that won’t allow the Wildcats to practice together until Jan. 5. Three days later Louisburg will travel to Eudora for its first game of 2021.

Still, Pfannenstiel is happy with where his team is at heading into the new year.

“I think our season is off to a good start,” he said. “We’ve already had a few hiccups to our schedule because of COVID, but our kids have rolled with it and made the most of their opportunities. We’ve played a tough schedule so far. I don’t think we are satisfied with being 3-2, but we know where we are and where we need to improve. Our team will never shy away from a challenge, so I think this season is going to be a lot of fun because the Frontier League is a dog fight each night. 

“Once we get a chance to get back together after the KSHSAA mandatory two week moratorium, it will be a grind the rest of the way. With all things considered, we are happy and fortunate to be playing basketball and hopefully our hard work and effort on the court will display that.”

LOU 7 11 12 20 – 50

SME 14 16 20 24 – 74 

LOUISBURG (3-2): Weston Guetterman 9-12 2-2 23; Julian Margrave 6-15 5-5 17; Michael Seuferling 2-6 1-2 5; Ben Guetterman 2-9 1-4 5. Totals: 19-46 9-13 50. 3-point field goals: 3, (W. Guetterman 3)

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