Wildcats roll Parsons in quarters as they prepare to make more history

Junior Julian Margrave hi-fives teammate Ben Guetterman (22) towards the end of the Wildcats’ 62-30 win over Parsons on Monday in the Class 4A state quarterfinals at Louisburg High School.

It has been 73 years since the Louisburg boys basketball team placed third at a state tournament.

In 1948, the Wildcats took third place overall, which is considered the best finish in school history and also took fourth in 1979. Those are the only two times a Wildcat team has placed at state.

This year’s version of the Wildcats have duplicated that feat, and have the chance to better it, following their 62-30 state quarterfinal win Monday over Parsons.

For the first time in school history, Louisburg hosted the Class 4A state quarterfinal and the victory moves them to the state semifinals starting Thursday in Salina.

“Not many teams have made it up in the state column banner in the LHS gym,” senior Konnor Vohs said. “Our success is among very few and we are very thankful for the chance to be the third team to make it this far. The feeling is beyond imaginable and we look forward to taking Louisburg to its first state championship in basketball history.”

The Wildcats will have to win one more game to get there as Louisburg, which earned the No. 3 seed, will face off with No. 2 Augusta at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 1 Bishop Miege and No. 4 McPherson at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the championship.

“It feels good to be a final four team in Kansas,”  junior Julian Margrave said. “All our hard work is definitely paying off and people are starting to take notice of who we are.”

Parsons got a first-hand look at a Wildcat team that has now won nine out of its last 10 games and has been dominant in the postseason. 

Louisburg, which took 23-16 halftime lead, broke the game open in the second half as it outscored the Vikings, 39-14, in the final two quarters to cruise into the semifinals.

It started on the defensive end of the floor for Louisburg as the Wildcats held Parsons to just 24 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers. They also out-rebounded the Vikings, 39-20.

“Defense was our focus to start the game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We kind of challenged them to hold Parsons to single digits each quarter. You know you say that and hope that it can be done, but then you go out and do it and it is just a great testament to our players.

“I think we held them to 8, 8, 5 and 9, so you know we did we did a good job defensively. We want to make things tough for them and to contest their shots. Their shooters didn’t get many open shots and we didn’t let them get to the paint. It was a good effort all-around.”

Margrave and senior Ben Guetterman got the Wildcat offense going in the third. Guetterman knocked down a 3-pointer to open the second half and Margrave followed with a run of his own.

With the Wildcats up 10, Margrave scored six straight points, including two on a breakaway dunk after a steal. Louisburg ended the quarter on a 12-4 run.

Senior Dawson Barnes and junior Michael Seuferling combined to score the first eight points of the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats pull away.

“I think that we played a good all-around game,” Louisburg senior Weston Guetterman said. “Everyone played a great game and we all played to our roles and it lead to us pulling away there in the second half.

“Our defense has really come on this season. Our mentality is that we can always control how our defense plays so if we have an off-night offensively we feel like we will still have a good shot to win because of our defense.”

Margrave led the Wildcats with a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Guetterman also scored in double figures with 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high three steals.

Seuferling finished with eight points, while Weston Guetterman had a big night at the point guard spot with 11 rebounds and a team-high seven assists to go along with five points.

Vohs was second on the team with four assists, including one where he saved the ball from going out of bounds and found an open teammate for an easy score.

“Going into the game, the whole team was pumped and ready to play,” Vohs said. “We were confident in the game plan and we came out and executed. I think we played aggressive which allowed us to take a lead. The second half just brought more energy that allowed us to feed off of and let us get the win.”

Now Louisburg will focus on trying to get to the school’s first state championship. The Kansas State High School Activities Association will not play third place games this year, and instead will award the loser of each semifinal a third place trophy.

However, that is not what the Wildcats want.

“It is nice to know that we have already at least tied the best finish in school history, but we aren’t satisfied with third,” Weston Guetterman said. “Especially since there isn’t a third place game, we want to advance to the championship and play for a title.”

LOU 14 9 16 23 — 62

PAR 8 8 5 9 — 30

LOUISBURG (17-6): Julian Margrave 8-14 2-3 20; Ben Guetterman 4-12 3-4 13; Michael Seuferling 4-4 0-0 8; Dawson Barnes 3-4 0-0 6; Weston Guetterman 2-9 1-2 5; Maverick Rockers 2-4 0-0 5; Mack Newell 1-1 0-0 3; Konnor Vohs 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 25-53 6-9 62. 3-point field goals: 6, (B. Guetterman 2, Margrave 2, Rockers, Newell)

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