Wildcats get first win of 2021 with victory over Eudora

Louisburg senior Weston Guetterman drives to the basket and gets fouled Friday during the Wildcats’ game at Eudora. Guetterman scored a team-high 17 points.

EUDORA – There were a lot of unknowns with how the Louisburg boys basketball team was going to look in its first game after the holiday break.

The Wildcats had just four days of practice before they squared off with Eudora on Friday and head coach Ty Pfannenstiel wasn’t sure how rusty his team was going to be.

After the first quarter, Louisburg shook off all the rust it had and pulled away for a 59-45 victory over the Cardinals at Eudora High School. It was the first time in 10 years that the Wildcats had won at Eudora.

“It was all kind of new for us,” Pfannenstiel said. “We only had like four days of practice after Christmas break and we didn’t know what we were going to get. We were wearing masks in a game for the first time and this is a tough place to play. I don’t think we have won here since 2011.

“I really thought we played well. We got off to a slow start, and we tend to do that here for some reason. We battled hard and made plays. I think switching to a zone energized us a little bit and took them out of their rhythm. It was a good first game out of the gate.”

Louisburg (4-2) fell behind early as Eudora went on a 9-1 run to begin the game and led 15-10 after the first quarter. From then on, the Wildcats employed a zone defense and it seemed to slow the Cardinals down.

The Wildcats went on a 15-2 run in the second quarter to take an eight-point halftime lead. Senior Weston Guetterman led the charge with six straight points to give Louisburg the lead and then Michael Seuferling followed with back-to-back baskets to extend their advantage.

That zone defense helped force 18 Eudora turnovers, which led to 17 Wildcat points. Louisburg also had 10 steals on the night.

“We worked on it a little bit at practice, but not a whole lot,” Pfannenstiel said of the zone. “We focus more on just playing with energy, and a lot of times when we play zone we think that is time to relax. We did work on it one day this week and our focus out of it was to be aggressive. 

“Zones can mess with some teams and I think we rebounded really well out of it. It helps when the other teams doesn’t hit shots too. You look smart when it works, but you look dumb when the other team knocks a few shots. I thought our guys did a good job in it though.”

Eudora trimmed a double-digit Louisburg lead to six late in the third quarter, but senior Konnor Vohs knocked down a 3-pointer and assisted Ben Guetterman on his basket to put the Wildcats back up 11.

From there, the Wildcats controlled the game and built a 17-point lead at one time and never looked back.

Weston Guetterman gave the Wildcats a big boost offensively as he scored a team-high 17 points, while Ben Guetterman and Julian Margrave scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. Margrave also had a team-high six rebounds.

Senior Andy Hupp was also active on the defensive end with five rebounds and a team-high four deflections, to go along with two assists.

“We were very balanced when it comes to our minutes and we have an eight-man rotation right now that everyone gets in there, plays to their role and does their part,” Pfannenstiel said. “The kids played with confidence and that was huge.”

Louisburg will try to make it two straight wins tonight when it travels to Bonner Springs. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 10 15 13 23 – 59

EUD 15 2 11 17 – 45 

LOUISBURG (4-2): Weston Guetterman 6-11 3-4 17; Ben Guetterman 5-13 2-3 14; Julian Margrave 3-11 5-7 13; Michael Seuferling 3-5 1-3 7; Konnor Vohs 1-2 3-4 5; Dawson Barnes 1-1 0-0 3; Andy Hupp 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-44 14-21 59. 3-point field goals: 7, (W. Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman 2, Margrave 2, Barnes)