Wildcats down Burlington in home opener for back-to-back wins

Louisburg senior Colyer Wingfield drives to the basket for two of his team-high 21 points Tuesday against Burlington.

Down a point early in the second quarter, Louisburg found itself in a tight game against Burlington Tuesday in its home opener.

The Wildcats were quick to loosen things up before halftime. Louisburg went on a big run to end the first half and it was enough to hold off Burlington, 52-41, to earn its second straight win to start the season.

“It’s always fun to play in front of the home crowd,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I thought our kids brought good energy to the floor and played pretty well.”

Louisburg (2-0) found itself down 14-13 in the early stages of the second quarter, but the Wildcats went on a 15-6 run to end the first half and took a 10-point halftime lead.

The lead ballooned to 16 points on a couple different occasions in the second half and the Wildcats made sure the result was never in doubt.

Senior Colyer Wingfield provided Louisburg with a boost on both ends of the floor. Wingfield led the Wildcats with 21 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had a pair of steals.

The Wildcats were without their starting forward — and tallest player — Mason Dobbins (6-7) who was out with an illness. So leave it to one of their shorter players — Cade Gassman (5-10) — to pick up the rebounding slack.

Gassman tied Wingfield for the team lead in rebounds with eight and he also finished with eight points. Nathan Parker, Luke Hill and Trey Myers were third on the team in scoring with five points each.

“It was a total team effort,” Pfannenstiel said. “We had lots of guys contribute in different ways. We stress to our guys playing to their role and so far our kids have done well with that. Cade was great. 

“With Mason out, we were concerned with how we would rebound. Cade provided us a nice spark with his defensive presence, rebounding, and energy.  Cade has stepped up as a leader for us. He’s always positive and brings good energy each day. He had a big night for us.”

Defensively, the Wildcats held Burlington to just 30 percent from the floor and forced 10 turnovers in the process.

“Anytime you hold a team to 41, you have to say we played pretty well defensively,” Pfannenstiel said,. “I’d still like to see us keep our man out of the paint a little better and our transition defense wasn’t great. But those are areas we can work on in practice and hopefully fix for the next time out.”

Louisburg will try for three straight wins tonight when the Wildcats travel to Anderson County for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

LOU 13 16 12 11 — 52

BUR 12 7 9 13 — 41

LOUISBURG (2-0): Colyer Wingfield 10-23 0-1 21; Cade Gassman 2-5 4-4 8; Nathan Parker 2-4 0-0 5; Luke Hill 2-3 0-0 5; Trey Myers 2-4 1-1 5; Isaiah Whitley 2-6 0-0 4; Brock Vohs 1-3 0-0 2; Conlee Hovey 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 22-49 5-6 52. 3-point field goals: 3, (Wingfield, Parker, Hill)

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