Wildcats fall to Ottawa, Lee’s Summit on back-to-back nights

Louisburg junior Conlee Hovey goes up for a shot Friday during the Wildcats’ game at Ottawa.

OTTAWA — The Louisburg boys basketball team ventured into Friday’s game at Ottawa on an upswing.

The Wildcats had won two straight and wanted nothing more than to get a big league road victory. Instead, a tough second quarter haunted Louisburg in a 62-52 loss to the Cyclones.

Louisburg found itself down by nine at halftime and the Wildcats were unable to get much closer in the second half.

“The second quarter was definitely a problem for us, but the third quarter we were scoring and getting the ball inside and finishing,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “But we had three possessions there where they got offensive rebounds that turned into points. When you are trying to beat a really good team, you can’t give up offensive rebounds and not get loose balls. To me that was the difference in the game. We were scoring, we just weren’t getting stops and it was second chances for them.”

It was an up-and-down game to start as the Wildcats trailed Ottawa, 19-18, at the end of the first quarter.

The Cyclones outscored the Wildcats 18-10 in the second quarter to pull away for the halftime lead. Turnovers were the culprit for Louisburg as the Wildcats turned the ball over 15 times in the game, which led to 17 Ottawa points.

In what was an evenly-played second half, the Wildcats were able to trim the lead to seven, but couldn’t get any closer.

Junior Conlee Hovey led the Wildcats in scoring as he was effective underneath the basket with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds. 

Senior Brady Hickey made an impact in several different areas for the Wildcats. He finished with 12 points, but pulled down a team-high eight rebounds from the guard spot.

Senior Nathan Parker had a team-high three assists to go along with eight points

“To take the positives out of it, was that Ottawa is a really good team,” Doll said. “Where we were a few weeks ago, where we lost four in a row, we lost to teams that weren’t anywhere as close to as good as Ottawa. I really like the way we competed against Ottawa and how hard the guys played. Ottawa beat a really good Baldwin team the night before, so there were some positives to take away.”

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track today when the Wildcats travel to Tonganoxie for another Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 18 10 14 10 — 52

OTT 19 18 16 9 — 62

LOUISBURG (6-9): Conlee Hovey 6-7 1-3 13; Brady Hickey 5-10 1-2 12; Nathan Parker 3-13 2-2 8; Luke Hill 2-7 0-0 6; Brock Vohs 3-4 0-0 6; Luke Schultz 2-5 1-3 5; Jaymes Melton 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 21-49 7-12 52. 3-point field goals: 3, (Hill 2, Hickey)

Wildcats fall in 810 Showcase to Lee’s Summit

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — In what was late addition to the schedule, Louisburg squared off with Lee’s Summit High School during the 810 Varsity Showcase on Saturday at Lee’s Summit West High School.

Louisburg head coach Ben Doll wanted his team to get an opportunity to go up against a larger school in a classic that featured some of the top teams in the Kansas City metro area.

For one half, the Wildcats were able to stay with Lee’s Summit, but the Tigers pulled away in the second half and handed Louisburg a 71-46 setback.

“In the first half we were definitely holding our own,” Doll said. “We followed the game plan, we knew they were a driving team so we did a good job playing gaps and played really good defense. We just made some silly turnovers, which turned out to be the difference in the first half. In the second half, our defense let down and our turnovers continued. I think the whole season it has been turnovers that has been the difference between us winning and losing.”

Louisburg trailed 28-20 at halftime, but the Wildcats were able to say with the Tigers. Turnovers, unfortunately haunted the Wildcats as they committed 23 for the game and it turned into 21 points on the other end.

Lee’s Summit outscored Louisburg 24-13 in the third quarter to pull away.

Senior Brady Hickey paced the Wildcats offensively as he scored a team-high 15 points, including seven points in the first quarter to keep his team in it.

Senior Nathan Parker finished in double figures with 10 points, while Myles Vohs and Luke Schultz each added six. 

Junior Conlee Hovey had a team-high 11 rebounds,  while seniors Jaymes Melton, Brock Vohs and Parker each added six rebounds. Parker also had four assists.

“Brady is getting more confident in being able to create his own shot,” Doll said. “In the second half, he did some good things too and did a good job driving to the basket. Conlee did a good job rebounding, which he has been doing a lot lately.

“The thing for us was the opportunity to go up against a bigger school to prepare us for the postseason and atmosphere that it brings. That is where we need to be thinking right now, which is good, I just wish our second half had been a little better. Playing back to back nights is hard and we played really good teams on both nights.”

LOU 12 8 13 13 — 46

LEE 18 10 24 19 — 71

LOUISBURG: Brady Hickey 5-8 4-6 15; Nathan Parker 4-14 1-1 10; Myles Vohs 3-6 0-2 6; Luke Schultz 2-6 2-4 6; Conlee Hovey 1-6 2-2 4; Bristol Barbour 1-1 0-0 2; Brock Vohs 1-3 0-1 2; Jaymes Melton 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 17-47 10-18 46. 3-point field goals: 2, (Parker, Hickey)

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