Wildcats rally for road victory over Tonganoxie

Louisburg junior Luke Schultz pulls up for shot Tuesday on the road at Tonganoxie. The Wildcats got a 45-40 victory over the Chieftains.

TONGANOXIE — The Louisburg boys basketball team likes a little bit of a challenge.

In many of their wins this season, the Wildcats have found themselves playing catch-up. Not exactly the ideal place to be and they found themselves in that same spot early in Tuesday’s game at Tonganoxie.

“Coach (Barry) O’Brien said before the game that digging ourselves out of hole is seems to be all we know,” Louisburg head coach Ben Doll joked. “We just set ourselves up that way, we dig out and luckily this team keeps fighting and is good at doing that.”

The Wildcats did it once again against the Chieftains. Louisburg rallied from an early 10-point deficit and held on for a 45-40 victory, which snapped a two-game losing skid.

“It was a good win,” Doll said. “This league is just tough, especially when you go on the road. We knew it was going to be tough considering it was a two-point game the last time we played. We knew Tongie was going to play tough and we are in that part of the season where everyone is fighting for position and sub-state.”

Louisburg (7-9) found itself down 14-4 to start the game, before the Wildcats started to battle back. They cut the Chieftain lead to just one early in the the third quarter, only to see Tonganoxie stretch it back out to eight.

Down 28-20, the Wildcats put together one big run to take control of the game. Louisburg outscored Tonganoxie 19-4, which lasted into the fourth quarter and took a 39-32 advantage with three minutes left in the game.

To start the run, Myles Vohs got a layup in transition, Luke Schultz knocked in a free throw and then Schultz hit a 3-pointer to give them a 31-28 lead late in the third.

Senior Brady Hickey made it a 33-30 contest with a runner in the lane. After a Tongie basket made it a one point game, Schultz got an offensive rebound and put back to make it 35-32.

Senior Brock Vohs then added two straight baskets to push the Louisburg lead to 39-32. Tonganoxie cut the lead to one with one minute remaining, but Hickey drove in for a layup and was fouled with 13 seconds left.

Hickey missed the free throw, but Schultz tapped the miss out for an extra possession for Louisburg. Luke Hill went on to make two free throws to put the game away.

Hovey was big on the inside for Louisburg as he finished with a double-double. He led the Wildcats with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Brock Vohs finished with nine points.

Schultz and Hickey each finished with seven points and Myles Vohs took on the point guard duties for most of the second half to help run the offense.

It was performances from several different players that helped the Wildcats leave with a big road win.

“We had big rebounds from Conlee throughout the game,” Doll said. “Luke Hill played really good defense on their guy that was shooting a lot, and shut him down late in the game. Then Luke Schultz got a big tap out for us that was just as huge as an offensive rebound. It wasn’t about scoring points, it was about doing the little things it took to win.

“Myles played some really good defense as well and did a good job running the offense. We are figuring people’s roles and they are figuring them out a lot better. Brady has been a consistent guys for us and hopefully we can get Gavin (Lohse) back on Friday. Understanding roles and being healthy is what you need with four games to go and March right around the corner.”

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins tonight as the Wildcats host Spring Hill for homecoming. It is a rematch of what was a Louisburg overtime victory earlier in the season.

“It will be a tough one,” Doll said. “Just like Tongie, I think they will come in confident because of what happened last time. That was another game where we had to dig ourselves out of a hole. Nothing is easy down the stretch, but I think we are a much better team right now than when we played last.”

LOU 5 10 16 14 — 45

TON 14 5 11 10 — 40

LOUISBURG (7-9): Conlee Hovey 5-11 0-0 10; Brock Vohs 4-5 1-3 9; Brady Hickey 3-5 0-1 7; Luke Schultz 2-4 2-6 7; Nathan Parker 1-5 2-2 4; Myles Vohs 2-7 0-1 4; Luke Hill 1-4 2-2 4. Totals: 18-41 7-15 45. 3-point field goals: 2, (Hickey, Schultz)