Wildcats fall to No. 1 seed Eudora in sub-state opener

Louisburg senior Michael Seuferling goes up for a rebound last Wednesday against Eudora in the first round of the sub-state tournament.

EUDORA — The Louisburg boys basketball team needed to figure out a way to give itself an opportunity to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

The Wildcats, who were the No. 16 seed, traveled to face No. 1 Eudora in the first round of the Class 4A sub-state tournament last Wednesday.

Unlike their two previous matchups, the Wildcats wanted to try some thing different and it certainly kept them in the game. Louisburg worked the ball around on offense and limited Eudora’s chances to get out and run.

Although it worked for awhile, the Wildcats couldn’t keep the Cardinals down for long as Louisburg saw its season come to an end with a 47-30 loss.

“I was so proud of the way our boys played,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “When you are playing the No. 1 seed like that, your goal is to get the game to the fourth quarter where anything can happen. Eudora is a really good team. They just have so many ways to hurt you. They have size, quick guards, good shooters, and a great defensive team.  They truly don’t have many, if any, weaknesses.”

The Wildcats (5-16) took the air out of the ball to start the game and it paid off as they took a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Eudora had a little more success in the second, but Louisburg struggled to score and the Cardinals held the Wildcats to just three points in the frame and took a 22-15 halftime advantage.

It was still a close game in the third quarter as Louisburg cut the Eudora lead to four at one point, but the Cardinals pulled away in the fourth quarter to eventually win by 17.

Eudora would go on to beat Labette County in the sub-state championship game, 68-42, and earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s state tournament.

“We knew we would struggle if we got into a shootout with them,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our No. 1 key going into the game was to control the tempo. Our thought was that by slowing down the game, it would help limit Eudora’s possessions and help us have more quality possessions.  In our eyes, quality over quantity is what we wanted offensively. 

“Eudora’s pack line defense makes it tough to get good looks, so we wanted to spread them out and make them guard outside of the three point line.  We got sped up at times, but overall, I thought our boys played well.”

It was the final game for the five Louisburg seniors. Maverick Rockers, Michael Seuferling, Carson Kern, Isaac Guetterman and Hunter Rogers all saw their Wildcat careers come to a close.

Rockers led Louisburg in scoring with nine points and a team-high five rebounds. Seuferling finished with eight, while junior Colyer Wingfield added seven in the loss.

Although it was a tough season just one year after finding themselves in the state championship game, Pfannenstiel believed his team battled every night through what was a difficult schedule.

“This honestly has been one of my most enjoyable seasons as a coach,” he said. “I know we all would have liked to win more games, but this group was so much fun to coach because they are a good bunch of kids. Top to bottom, every kid is a genuine good kid. 

“This group played an incredibly tough schedule. The Frontier League, in my opinion, is the best league in the state. Then we played great competition outside of our league schedule. Our kids didn’t complain once. They battled every night out and gave our community something to be proud of.”

LOU 12 3 9 6 — 30

EUD 10 12 12 13 — 47

LOUISBURG (5-16): Maverick Rockers 3-10 0-0 9; Michael Seuferling 2-10 4-8 8; Colyer Wingfield 3-5 1-2 7; Isaac Guetterman 1-1 1-2 4; Mack Newell 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 10-31 6-12 30. 3-point field goals: 4, (Rockers 3, Guetterman)