Wildcats rally to capture Pleasanton Tournament title

Members of the Louisburg boys basketball team, who won the Pleasanton Tournament title are (front row, from left) Luke Hill, Myles Vohs, Brady Hickey, Cade Gassman, Nathan Parker, Josh Holtzen, Isaiah Whitley; (back row) Brock Vohs, Gavin Lohse, Luke Schultz, Conlee Hovey, Mason Dobbins, Trey Myers, Jaymes Melton and Colyer Wingfield.

PLEASANTON — Down 10 in the championship game of the Pleasanton Tournament on Friday, Louisburg needed a spark.

The Wildcats got it from some of the unlikeliest of places — their bench. Rarely used players Gavin Lohse and Luke Schultz, along with guard Nathan Parker, combined for 32 points and helped Louisburg to a 69-53 win over Northeast Kansas of Topeka.

Louisburg outscored the Nighthawks 46-20 in the second half and left with a tournament title and three straight wins.

“That is why you play for four quarters,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We just kind of seemed flat to start. We had nine turnovers in the first half and shots just weren’t falling. In the second half, we said we were going to bring energy. Defense is what really sparked us and there was definitely a different body language and energy in that second half.

“Sometimes as a coach that is concerning because it shouldn’t be that way, but our kids responded well. All our kids contributed and we got some good production off the bench. All weekend was really good and all our kids contributed to this tournament win.”

Parker, who didn’t play in the first half, came off the bench to score 12 points in the second half to give the Wildcats the scoring spark they were looking for. 

Lohse and Schultz, a sophomore and freshman, respectively, also were big in the rally. Schultz scored in double figures with 11 points and had four rebounds, while Lohse added nine points.

“This week has been tricky as we had a JV tournament as well, so the kids only get 20 games in a year we were trying to work around that where they can play in both tournaments,” Pfannenstiel said. “We had like 3 or 4 guys designated each night and Nathan wasn’t supposed to play in this one. He was a big difference for us and he really stretches the floor and he shot the ball well. He played really good defense as well and took a couple charges. 

“Gavin and Luke hadn’t seen a lot of varsity time yet and they were huge for us. They were both close to double figures and they just played hard and pretty smart. They brought a lot of energy out there, and hats off to those guys for taking advantage of their opportunity.”

Senior Colyer Wingfield was the steady hand for the Wildcats as he led all scorers with 17 points to go along with a team-high seven assists and six rebounds.

Sophomore Conlee Hovey also played strong down low as the Wildcat forward finished with a double-double — 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Down 33-23 at halftime, the Wildcats used their defense to help get them back in it. For the game, Louisburg forced 21 turnovers and scored 16 points off those mistakes.

The Wildcats improved their record to 7-5 on the season as they prepare to get back into Frontier League play. Louisburg will travel to Bonner Springs this Friday for a league matchup.

“We talked going into this tournament that we needed to get our confidence back,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have played good basketball this year, but we kind of went through a stretch where we were struggling offensively. This was a good week for us to get that confidence and swagger going. A win is a win and to win three in a row is a good accomplishment.”

LOU 13 10 22 24 — 69

NEK 14 19 10 10 — 53

LOUISBURG (7-5): Colyer Wingfield 6-15 4-6 17; Conlee Hovey 5-11 2-2 12; Nathan Parker 4-5 2-2 12; Luke Schultz 3-3 4-4 11; Gavin Lohse 4-9 1-2 9; Mason Dobbins 2-4 1-3 5; Cade Gassman 0-3 3-4 3. Totals: 24-57 17-23 69. 3-point field goals: 4, (Parker 2, Schultz, Wingfield)

Wildcats get out to quick start in win over Pleasanton

In its journey to the championship, Louisburg first had to get by Pleasanton on Thursday in the second round of tournament play.

The Wildcats jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and never looked back in a 74-39 win over the Blu-Jays.

Louisburg built on that halftime lead as it outscored Pleasanton 25-10 in the third period to seal the win for the Wildcats.

Colyer Wingfield led the Wildcats in scoring with a game-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. He also finished with five steals.

Senior Trey Myers scored well from the outside as he finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Sophomore Conlee Hovey just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.

Senior Mason Dobbins had a big day on the glass with a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with nine points and three blocks. Senior Isaiah Whitley had eight points and six boards, while junior Jaymes Melton came off the bench to score six points and he also pulled down 10 rebounds.

“Against Pleasanton, our defense was good and I think our length gave them some problems,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our kids definitely played well this week and was good to see them play a little more consistent. Hopefully this is the momentum we need as we get back into the Frontier League.”

LOU 18 22 25 9 — 74

PLE 8 14 10 7 — 39

LOUISBURG: Colyer Wingfield 6-15 6-8 21; Trey Myers 6-8 0-0 15; Conlee Hovey 6-9 1-2 13; Mason Dobbins 4-10 1-5 9; Isaiah Whitley 3-4 2-4 8; Jaymes Melton 2-4 2-4 6; Myles Vohs 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 28-59 12-23 79. 3-point field goals: 6, (Myers 3, Wingfield 3)

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