Tough fourth quarter sinks Louisburg in loss to Baldwin

Louisburg junior Luke Hill connects on one of his four 3-pointers Tuesday at home against Baldwin. Hill finished with a team-high 14 points.

For the first three quarters, everything was going how the Louisburg boys basketball team had hoped.

The Wildcats led the Bulldogs going into the final quarter and were aiming for their fourth straight win to start the season. 

Baldwin quickly dashed those hopes once the fourth quarter began.

The Bulldogs scored 10 straight points to open the final period and handed Louisburg its first loss of the year, 56-45. The Wildcats held the Bulldogs to 35 points through three quarter, but Baldwin exploded for 21 in the last frame.

“Well we played pretty well defensively again,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Baldwin had been scoring in the 70s all season so we were able to slow them down a bit. We never did get into any type of rhythm offensively. We struggled on that end of the floor. We have to do better.”

Louisburg (3-1) trailed 14-11 after the first quarter, but used a strong second quarter to take the lead at halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 11-5, thanks to three 3-pointers off the bench from junior Luke Hill.

Hill gave the Wildcats a lift offensively. He led the team with 14 points on the night to go along with four 3s.

“Luke played really well and gave us a great spark,” Pfannenstiel said. “I’m hoping that jump starts him and he starts playing more consistently. We could really use that type of offensive production. He can really shoot the ball, so he needs to look to get his feet set and put the ball in the hole. It was a big night for Luke.”

After an even third quarter between both teams, Baldwin took off to start the fourth. The Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to grab the lead and the Wildcats didn’t have an answer offensively.

For the game, Louisburg shot 35 percent from the field and turned the ball over 17 times. Baldwin was also able to score 16 points in transition.

“We can’t have those kind of stretches,” Pfannenstiel said.

Along with Hill’s 14 points, senior Colyer Wingfield also finished in double figures with 12 and had a team-best four assists. Senior Mason Dobbins recorded a team-high eight rebounds.

Baldwin’s Cooper and Caleb Carr gave the Wildcats fits at times as both scored in double figures. The two combined for 28 points and Cooper led all scorers with 17.

The good news is the Wildcats will get a chance to bounce back today as they host Frontenac in their final game for the holidays. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“I’m excited to see how our team responds,” Pfannenstiel said. “Hopefully we can learn from our loss, get things corrected, and play a complete game against Frontenac.”

LOU 11 11 15 8 — 45

BAL 14 5 16 21 — 56

LOUISBURG (3-1): Luke Hill 5-10 0-1 14; Colyer Wingfield 5-17 2-4 12; Conlee Hovey 2-2 2-2 6; Trey Myers 2-4 0-0 4; Nathan Parker 1-2 0-0 3; Cade Gassman 1-7 0-0 2; Isaiah Whitley 1-2 0-0 2; Mason Dobbins 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 18-51 4-7 45. 3-point field goals: 5, (Hill 4, Parker)

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