Wildcats roll past Harrisonville in overtime in must-win game

Maverick Rockers knocks down one of his three 3-pointers Thursday at Harrisonville High School during the Wildcats’ 74-59 overtime win.

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — They were they types of shots that have been known to bring down the Louisburg boys basketball team throughout the season and Harrisonville had three of them in one game.

Whether it was a three-quarter court heave that hit the backboard and right into a teammate’s hand for a layup at the buzzer right before halftime, or a buzzer-beating half-court shot to end the third or a game-tying 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in the fourth quarter — Harrisonville tried everything it could to knock off the Wildcats.

“This season it seems like we have always had those shots go against us and sometimes those plays have deflated us and we have struggled to come back when the other team gets that momentum,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Our kids really responded this time.”

Louisburg persevered in a way it hadn’t much all season.

The Wildcats scored 17 points in the overtime Thursday at Harrisonville High School and pulled away for a 74-59 victory over Harrisonville in its regular season finale.

It was a must-win game for Louisburg as the Wildcats needed a win Thursday to have a chance to get into the sub-state tournament. They also had to have help as they needed both Ottawa and Fort Scott to lose their games on Friday. The two teams on each side of the state with the worst record are eliminated from the postseason.

Both of those scenarios happened and now the Wildcats (5-15) are the No. 16 seed and will travel to No. 1 Eudora on Wednesday to begin sub-state action.

The Louisburg players knew Thursday’s game was important and they treated it just like a playoff game.

“You could definitely tell they had that energy,” Pfannenstiel said of his players. “They were in good spirits and positive, even when things weren’t going our way. They knew their season was on the line, and for those five seniors, their careers were on the line. For them to make big plays and run away with it in overtime, was just huge for us.”

The Wildcats outscored Harrisonville 17-2 in the overtime after Harrisonville stole all the momentum with a game-tying 3-pointer toward the end of regulation.

Louisburg didn’t waste any time taking it right back. Senior Isaac Guetterman knocked down a 3-pointer to begin overtime, and junior Mack Newell responded with back-to-back baskets to help the Wildcats go on a 7-2 run.

The free-throw line was a strong point for the Wildcats and they iced the game there, as they converted 23 of 31 attempts for the game.

“Isaac hit a big shot in overtime to help get us going and it was a great team win,” Pfannenstiel said. “We got contributions from all of our guys and we played good enough defensively and was one of our better nights offensively.”

Newell and junior Colyer Wingfield played big on the inside for Louisburg and provided a lot of scoring in the paint. 

Newell finished with a double-double as he led the Wildcats with 21 points and 10 rebounds, despite dealing with foul trouble. Wingfield was also key for Louisburg as he had 17 points and five rebounds.

The Wildcats also got strong play from the perimeter as Maverick Rockers finished with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Senior Michael Seuferling had 14 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.

Guetterman, who hit the big 3-pointer at the beginning of overtime, had a team-high six assists.

Louisburg held the lead for much of the contest, despite getting down 6-0 early, but had to face adversity late as both Newell and Rockers were saddled with four fouls. Seniors Carson Kern and Hunter Rogers provided the Wildcats with significant minutes down the stretch.

“I don’t know if we can say Mack has foul trouble anymore, that is kind of just the norm for him,” Pfannenstiel said. “Mav is a smart player and we trusted him in that situation, but it does get dicey when you have two guys like that with four fouls. It was a good team win though and everyone kind of pulled together when we needed it the most.”

The Wildcats will now travel to Eudora (16-3) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff with their season on the line in the first round of sub-state. The winner of that game will play the winner of Labette County (11-9) and Independence (10-7) on Saturday for the sub-state championship.

LOU 12 18 15 12 17 — 74

HAR 11 16 15 15 2 — 59

LOUISBURG (5-15): Mack Newell 6-8 8-11 21; Maverick Rockers 4-10 6-8 17; Colyer Wingfield 8-12 1-2 17; Michael Seuferling 3-8 8-10 14; Isaac Guetterman 2-4 0-0 5. Totals: 23-45 23-31 74. 3-point field goals: 5, (Rockers 3, Newell, Guetterman)

Upset-bid of Paola falls short for Louisburg

Louisburg had every intention of handing No. 3 Paola a loss on its Senior Night on Tuesday in Paola, but the Wildcats couldn’t complete the job.

Paola used a big fourth quarter to rally and defeat Louisburg, 54-43, to end its Frontier League schedule.

“Man, we competed,” Pfannenstiel said. “I thought our kids executed our defensive game plan very well.  What we’ve done defensively against Paola is pretty unorthodox, so hats off to our kids for buying in and executing.”

The Wildcats concentrated on slowing down Paola senior Trey Moala, and did so again, holding him to seven points thanks to the defense of senior Michael Seuferling.

However, several other Panthers hit big baskets down the stretch, including Caden Marcum, who had a team-high 14 points and Dalton Picek who finished with 10.

Paola was able to rally thanks to its ability on the offensively glass as the Panthers pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and finished with 15 second chance points.

Add in foul trouble that Louisburg had to deal with on the inside, and the Panthers were able to take advantage.

“Paola has good size, strength and athleticism on the inside so they definitely took advantage of that,” Pfannesntiel said. “We’ve struggled with giving up offensive rebounds all season. When Mack and Colyer picked up some early fouls, they probably had to play a little more cautious which hurt us. I thought Hunter Rogers did a nice job of coming in and helping us on the boards.”

Louisburg held a 34-32 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Paola outscored the Wildcats 22-9 in the final frame to avoid the upset.

Mack Newell led Louisburg in scoring with 12 points and five rebounds and Colyer Wingfield added 10 in the loss. Maverick Rockers just finished out of double figures with eight.

Despite the loss, there were positives to takeaway as the Wildcats focus on the rest of the their season, including Seuferling’s defensive performance.

“Sci Fi has been really good all year. He logs almost every minute of the game and he’s always guarding the best player. It’s impressive to think how well he guarded Moala both games this year giving up 7 inches in height. He held him to 9 the first game and then 7 this time. Michael did exactly what we asked of him — keep him out of the paint and force him to shoot perimeter shots and mid range jumpers. He played about as well as you possibly could on defense.”

LOU 14 4 16 9 — 43

PAO 13 11 8 22 — 54

LOUISBURG: Mack Newell 5-7 1-2 12; Colyer Wingfield 4-5 2-3 10; Maverick Rockers 3-6 0-0 8; Michael Seuferling 1-8 4-4 6; Isaac Guetterman 1-3 2-2 5; Carson Kern 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 14-33 11-13 43. 3-point field goals: 4, (Rockers 2, Newell, Guetterman)

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