Rockers’ 3-pointer in final seconds stops Wildcats’ losing skid in win over Ottawa

The Louisburg bench celebrates just as the buzzer sounded in the Wildcats’ 57-54 come-from-behind victory over Ottawa on Friday at Ottawa High School.

OTTAWA — At least when it came to shooting, it appeared that Friday just wasn’t going to be Maverick Rockers’ night.

The Louisburg senior missed his first eight shots and had just one point against Ottawa going into the game’s final seconds.

However, with the game on the line, the Wildcats looked Rockers’ direction — and it paid off in a big way.

Rockers hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to put Louisburg up one. Louisburg senior Carson Kern then stole the Cyclone inbounds pass and scored to ice the Wildcats’ 57-54 win at Ottawa.

“We had that play called and we have a lot of confidence in Maverick,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We wanted to keep with it, the kids ran the play, executed well and the shot went in. It was a big shot and just a great win for the guys. We really needed it.”

The game also snapped a six-game losing skid for the Wildcats. It also marked the first victory for Louisburg in Ottawa in at least two decades.

Louisburg (4-10) had to rally to make that a reality. The Wildcats found themselves down six with a minute remaining, but Michael Seuferling drove the lane, was fouled and converted the 3-point play.

After an Isaac Guetterman free throw cut the Cyclone lead to two, Ottawa made two free throws to go back up four. Then with 30 seconds remaining, Mack Newell knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a one-point contest.

The Cyclones knocked down two more free throws to make it 53-50 with 27 seconds left, but the Wildcats stayed close when Colyer Wingfield had an offensive rebound and put back to keep it a one point game with 19 seconds remaining.

With a pair of fouls by Louisburg within seconds of themselves, Ottawa had a chance to put the game away, but the Cyclones made just one of four free throws.

That all set up Rockers’ heroics and gave the Wildcats the victory they were looking for. Seuferling pushed the ball to the corner and then threw a cross-court pass to Rockers in the opposite corner and the Louisburg senior knocked down the shot.

“Our guys always give good effort and have done so all year,” Pfannenstiel said. “It just comes down to making plays, making some shots and getting some stops. At the end, we got the ones that we needed and things went our way. It was great shots by Mack and Mav to get us there, also a nice putback by Colyer and steal by Carson that made the difference in the end.”

Following Rockers’ 3-pointer, Kern quickly stole the inbound pass as the clock was running down and took it in for the uncontested layup to put the Wildcats up three and sealed the win.

It was quite the victory for the Wildcats, who were coming off some heartbreak of their own last week when they lost at the buzzer to Paola. This time, Louisburg found itself on the winning side.

“I told Coach (Drew) Harding after the game that I didn’t even know what happened there at the end,” Pfannenstiel said. “It was just like a whirlwind. The kids made plays and I am proud of them. They needed this win and they have worked hard. We have played a good schedule, lost a tough one the other night to Paola. We were able to make the plays this time and it was good to see.”

The Wildcats turned up the pressure defensively in the game’s final minute, which helped the rally from seven points down with a 1:21 left in the contest. 

Louisburg scored 13 points off 16 Cyclone turnovers on the night and the Wildcats also found success inside as they outscored Ottawa 34-20 in the paint. Seuferling was a big part of that as he finished with a team-high 22 points and a team-best four assists. 

Wingfield and Newell were also key for Louisburg. Wingfield scored 15 points and Newell added 13, while both finished with a team-high eight rebounds.

“A lot of those points were late, but with Michael you couldn’t tell by his reaction if we were down by 30 or up by 30,” Pfannenstiel said. “He is going to keep playing and he was big for us. Mack had another nice game for us, Colyer was good on the boards and it was just a good team win. The guys did the little things to get us the win.”

The Wildcats will try for back-to-back wins tonight as they host Fort Scott. Pfannenstiel hopes this win can get the Wildcats going in the right direction.

“I told the guys that it is time to go on another run here,” he said. “This was a big momentum builder for us and a great win in a place where we haven’t won in a number of years. That is big for us and something that these kids will always remember.”

LOU 8 10 13 26 — 57

OTT 6 16 10 22 — 54

LOUISBURG (4-10): Michael Seuferling 7-20 7-10 22; Colyer Wingfield 6-7 3-6 15; Mack Newell 6-8 0-0 13; Maverick Rockers 1-9 1-2 4; Carson Kern 1-2 0-1 2; Isaac Guetterman 0-3 1-2 1. Totals: 21-49 12-21 57. 3-point field goals: 3, (Newell, Seuferling, Rockers)

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