Wildcats’ rally falls short in road loss to Spring Hill

Louisburg sophomore Conlee Hovey battles for a rebound with a pair of Spring Hill players Friday at Spring Hill High School.

SPRING HILL — Down 10 points midway through the third quarter, the Louisburg boys were in a tough situation Friday in Spring Hill.

Still, the Wildcats found a way to get out of it. 

Louisburg rallied from a double-digit deficit to take a four-point lead with under two minutes left in the contest. As hard as the Wildcats fought, Spring Hill snatched the lead right back.

The Broncos scored the final seven points of the contest and handed Louisburg a 61-58 defeat.

“It was a tough loss,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We had a two possession lead with 1:13 left and didn’t finish it off. I was proud of how we got ourselves back in position to win the game, but we didn’t make enough plays in the end. We had our opportunities, we just didn’t get it done.”

Louisburg took the lead midway through the fourth quarter thanks to free throws from senior Trey Myers and a layup from Colyer Wingfield to go up 54-52.

Spring Hill tied it with a basket on its next possession, but the Wildcats scored four straight points thanks to a driving basket from Nathan Parker and a lay-in from Conlee Hovey.

With under two minutes left, the Broncos cut the lead to one as they hit the last of their 11 3-pointers for the game to cut it to one. Louisburg had back-to-back turnovers, while Spring Hill converted at the free-throw line to get the win.

Although the Broncos connected on those 11 3-pointers, the Wildcats still found themselves in the contest, but had a tough time at the free-throw line as they went 19 for 37.

“Spring Hill was hot from outside which kept them in it,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have to do a better job of making things tough on their shooters. The most glaring stat was our poor shooting night at the foul line. We did a good job of getting to the line, but we have to take advantage of those foul line opportunities. We have to knock those down if we want to win these close games.”

The Wildcats (7-10) made several big plays throughout the game to get back in it, and it started on the inside. Dobbins and Hovey were factors for the Wildcats on the glass and with some easy baskets.

Dobbins finished the game with a team-high 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. Hovey added nine points and had a team-best 10 boards.

Wingfield also scored in double figures for the Wildcats with 10 points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists.

“We had some really good offensive possessions during that stretch,” Pfannenstiel said. “We had a lot of guys step up and make plays for us. It was a total team effort. 

“Mason had a good night on both sides. He was active on defense and on the glass. He also put together his best offensive performance. Both he and Conlee were really good in there.”

The Wildcats will try and snap its four-game losing streak tonight when the Wildcats travel to Eudora. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 9 13 14 22 — 58

SH 13 14 18 16 — 61

LOUISBURG (7-10): Mason Dobbins 4-9 4-7 12; Colyer Wingfield 3-11 4-11 10; Nathan Parker 3-7 2-3 10; Conlee Hovey 3-5 3-7 9; Luke Hill 2-7 0-0 5; Trey Myers 1-1 2-2 5; Cade Gassman 1-1 0-1 3; Isaiah Whitley 0-0 3-4 3; Brock Vohs 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 17-41 19-37 58. 3-point field goals: 5, (Parker 2, Hill, Myers, Gassman)

Wildcats fall in close game to Tonganoxie

Louisburg got out to the start it wanted against Tonganoxie at home on Feb. 7.

The final three quarters weren’t what the Wildcats were hoping for. Tonganoxie defeated the Wildcats 52-48 after outscoring Louisburg by 10 after the first quarter.

“We had a terrible scoring drought there in the third and fourth quarter that really did us in,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I think it was a 10 minute stretch of actual game time where we only scored one bucket.”

That drought haunted the Wildcats as Tonganoxie was able to build a 16-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. All this after Louisburg took a 12-5 lead after the first frame.

Defensively, the Wildcats were also able to turn the Chieftains over late and Louisburg was able to cut into the lead thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers from senior Colyer Wingfield. However, it was too big of a deficit to overcome.

“Our defense played ok, but our offensive struggles are making it to where our defense has to play nearly perfect every night,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have to do a better job of generating some offense.”

Wingfield had a big night from the floor as he finished with a game-high 28 points, that included five 3-pointers. Junior Nathan Parker just missed double figures with nine points.

Sophomore Conlee Hovey and senior Mason Dobbins each had a team-high nine rebounds. 

LOU 12 8 8 20 — 48

TON 5 15 13 18 — 52

LOUISBURG: Colyer Wingfield 9-19 5-7 28; Nathan Parker 3-13 0-0 9; Conlee Hovey 1-5 1-2 3; Trey Myers 1-3 0-0 3; Mason Dobbins 1-2 1-6 3; Myles Vohs 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 16-52 7-17 48. 3-point field goals: 9, (Wingfield 5, Parker 3, Myers)