Wildcats’ defense propels Louisburg to victory in home opener

Louisburg senior point guard Maverick Rockers goes up for two of his team-high 17 points Friday in the Wildcats’ victory over Anderson County.

It wasn’t the best of shooting nights for the Louisburg boys basketball team Friday in its home opener against Anderson County.

The Wildcats shot just 31 percent from the floor in what was a tightly-contested contest.

As much as they struggled from the floor, the Louisburg defense shined as it forced more than 20 turnovers in their 42-36 victory over the Bulldogs.

“We always talk about how there are going to be nights when you have off nights offensively,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “That’s just how basketball is sometimes. But we can never have a bad night defensively. We feel like if we can be good on the defensive end of the floor each night, we will always be in the game. 

“We wanted to put pressure on their guards and make it tough for them to get into their offense and get it into their big guys. We forced 20 turnovers, so I’d say that was the biggest difference in the game.”

Louisburg (2-1) forced 22 Bulldog turnovers on the night and did it with a pesky defense that recorded 12 steals

The Wildcats did all that while getting out rebounded 35-23 and only converting 12 field goals. Louisburg trailed by two points going into halftime, but held Anderson County to just six points in the third quarter to take the lead back.

“It was a good win for us versus a team that had a lot of size and experience,” Pfannenstiel said. “We haven’t really shot it well so far this year.  I like that we are being aggressive attacking the rim, but with our size, we are going to have to be willing to take some shots from the perimeter and hit some pull up jumpers in the lane.”

When most of the Wildcats were struggling offensively, senior point guard Maverick Rockers was the one who kept his team in the game.

Rockers scored a game-high 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in 31 minutes of action. He also had a team-high four steals on defense.

“Mav has been great,” Pfannenstiel said. “He’s got a great feel for the game. He can be a real game manager from the point guard position, but we are going to rely on him to score for us this year on offense. As good as he’s been on offense, he’s been equally as good on the defensive end. He’s playing hard on both ends.”

Louisburg led by just four points going into the final quarter, but the Wildcats expanded that lead to nine late in the game. They were able to ice the game at the free-throw line.

Junior Mack Newell was second on the team in scoring with eight points and led Louisburg with six rebounds and had three steals and two blocks.

Senior Carson Kern also helped keep the Bulldogs at bay with three free throws in the final minute.

The Wildcats will try and make it three wins in a row tonight when they travel to Baldwin for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

“We just need to find ourselves offensively,” Pfannenstiel said. “I think if we can be a little more patient and get good looks at the basket, we should find a little more consistency there.  We are going to have two good tests this week.  We are going to have to play well.”

LOU 11 6 12 13 — 42

AC 8 11 6 11 — 36

LOUISBURG (2-1): Maverick Rockers 5-14 5-6 17; Mack Newell 3-6 2-2 8; Michael Seuferling 1-6 4-7 6; Carson Kern 1-2 3-4 5; Colyer Wingfield 1-5 2-4 4; Luke Hill 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 12-39 16-23 42. 3-point field goals: 2, (Rockers 2)