Margrave’s big outings help Wildcats to wins over Fort Scott, Eudora

Louisburg junior Julian Margrave goes up for two of his game-high 26 points Thursday against Fort Scott. Margrave scored 49 points in the Wildcats two wins over Fort Scott and Eudora.

Louisburg couldn’t seem to get into much of a rhythm early on in Saturday’s makeup game against Eudora.

The Wildcats found themselves down five points going into the second quarter, but they used their defense to get back in the lead to stay.

Louisburg forced 21 Eudora turnovers and turned those into 18 points, which helped the Wildcats to a 53-43 win over the Cardinals. It was also the fifth straight victory for Louisburg.

“Other than a few mental lapses early, I thought we were really good defensively,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Our guards have been doing an incredible job of pressuring in the full court and on the perimeter, which is really making it tough on our opponents. To force 21 turnovers was huge for us. That was definitely a big factor in the outcome. Holding a good team like Eudora to 43 points is something to be proud of.”

The Wildcats’ (13-5) ratcheted up its defense on the perimeter, especially at the guard spot. Senior Weston Guetterman had a team-high five steals, while Konnor Vohs, Ben Guetterman and Maverick Rockers each had two. Forward Dawson Barnes also recorded three steals.

A lot of that defense turned into offense, with big thanks to Julian Margrave. The Louisburg junior finished with a game-high 23 points and had nine rebounds. He also connected on five 3-pointers.

“Julian really heated up,” Pfannenstiel said. “I think he was 0 for his first 3, but then really got it going. Eudora had some good size to counter Julian’s length, so this game was a good challenge for him. Julian’s skills give him an advantage, because he can really stretch a defense into having to guard him on the perimeter. He had a really good shooting day.”

Weston Guetterman had a big game with 15 points to go along with his five steals and six rebounds. 

Louisburg put together a 20-point second quarter to take a three-point halftime lead. The Wildcat defense then held Eudora to just 16 second half points and were able to hold off the Cardinals.

“We got down early, but we’ve done that quite a few times this year,” Pfannenstiel said. “We always emphasize that there are a lot of possessions in a game and there’s no time to dwell on a prior possession no matter if it’s good or bad. We knew that if we just stayed the course, we’d be fine.

“I think it was just another good team win. We had a lot of guys playing to their role and doing their job which contributes to the win. Our kids have really bought into that and are playing good team basketball.”

LOU 10 20 12 11 — 53

EUD 15 12 9 7 — 43

LOUISBURG (13-5): Julian Margrave 9-18 0-0 23; Weston Guetterman 3-10 6-8 15; Michael Seuferling 2-8 1-2 5; Konnor Vohs 2-5 0-0 4; Dawson Barnes 2-4 0-0 4; Ben Guetterman 1-6 0-0 2. Totals: 19-52 7-11 53. 3-point field goals: 8, (Margrave 5, W. Guetterman 3)

Margrave has big night as Wildcats roll Fort Scott

FORT SCOTT — Louisburg knew it had a mismatch going into Thursday’s game with Fort Scott.

Once it got to the second quarter, the Wildcats were able to exploit it in a big way.

Louisburg knew it had a size advantage with 6-foot-9 inch Julian Margrave, and Fort Scott couldn’t do much to stop him.

Margrave scored a game-high 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks and helped Louisburg to a 62-37 win.

“Our kids did a good job seeing that mismatch and getting him the ball and he did a nice job finishing when he got his touches,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “You have to go with what is working and we knew that going in. This is the first game where we have know we have had a size advantage and really took advantage of it. Julian had a big night and hats off to the guys who were feeding him the ball.”

One of those guys was point guard Weston Guetterman, who had a team-high six assists and senior Konnor Vohs had four. 

After a slow start in which the Wildcats trailed 14-9 at the end of the first quarter, Louisburg put together a big second quarter in which it outscored Fort Scott 19-3 and took an 11-point halftime lead.

Louisburg continued to pour it on offensively in the third quarter as it scored 22 points and built a comfortable lead from there.

Senior Ben Guetterman scored in double figures with 12 points and also had three steals. Junior Michael Seuferling finished with nine points.

LOU 9 19 22 12 — 62

FS 14 3 12 8 — 37 

LOUISBURG: Julian Margrave 12-17 0-0 26; Ben Guetterman 5-10 0-0 12; Michael Seuferling 3-3 3-3 9; Weston Guetterman 3-6 2-2 8; Dawson Barnes 2-2 0-0 4; Konnor Vohs 1-5 1-2 3. Totals: 26-46 6-7 62. 3-point field goals: 4, (Margrave 2, B. Guetterman 2)

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