Wildcats fall to Harrisonville on Senior Night to end regular season

In what started out as a night of celebration for the Louisburg basketball team, turned into one of disappointment.

The Wildcats hosted Harrisonville for Senior Night on Thursday, in what was also their regular season finale. Despite a solid start, Louisburg came up short in a 57-52 loss.

Harrisonville used a big second quarter to take the lead and it never relinquished it, despite a late Louisburg rally that cut the deficit to two late in the contest.

“We played hard,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “I have never doubted that and Harrisonville is a very good team that has 20 wins on the year. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but it was one where we thought we could go toe-to-toe with them. There were just a few moments in the game where we couldn’t get stops and we were just trading buckets. I think we lost the game in about the middle portion where all that was going on.”

The game was tied at 9-all after the first quarter, but Harrisonville scored 19 points in the second and went into halftime with a seven-point lead.

Harrisonville got out to the lead thanks to its performance from the outside. It knocked down nine 3-pointers for the game, with seven of those coming in the first half. 

Louisburg also struggled from the free-throw line as it converted just 13 of 24 attempts for the game.

“They hit a lot of threes and we didn’t convert at the free-throw line,” Doll said. “ That just isn’t going to cut it. We left a lot of points on the table. You have to make free throws when you are in close games and the guys know that. We have to do a better job of that.”

Harrisonville stretched its lead out early in the fourth quarter, before the Wildcats went on a little rally of their own. 

It started on a basket from Conlee Hovey and was fouled. Hovey missed the free throw, but got the rebound and put back to make it a four-point possession. 

Brady Hickey knocked in a free throw to make it six-point contest, then Hovey scored again under the basket on an assist from Brock Vohs. Harrisonville took the lead back to six, but Nathan Parker knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to make it a one possession game late.

Harrisonville was then called for a technical foul, and Parker hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 53-51. The Wildcats got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead.

The Wildcats attacked the basket, but the shot rimmed off and Harrisonville got the rebound. It went on to make its free throws and sealed the win. 

It was the final home game for seniors Nathan Parker, Brady Hickey, Brock Vohs, Jaymes Melton and Luke Hill. The five players and their parents were honored before the game.

All five started the game for the Wildcats and got them out to a 7-0 lead.

“They are going to be an extra special group for me with this being my first year here,” Doll said. “It was easy to start all five of those guys because all of them have been such good contributors and such hard workers. We actually started the game really well. 

“This is what this part of the season is about too is to keep these guys playing and hopefully we can get them five more games here and not end it too early. They are going to do a lot of great things in their life, but this will be the only time that people will pay to watch you play basketball, so you need to enjoy that.”

Parker had a big game for the Wildcats as he scored a game-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Hovey almost finished with a double-double as he added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Hickey added seven points and a team-high four assists

Louisburg (8-12) earned the No. 10 seed in the Class 4A sub-state tournament and will make the trip to No. 7 Coffeyville-Field Kindley (14-6) on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tipoff.

“I told the guys we just have to move on from this real quick,” Doll said. “This is going to be like any basketball tournament, it is all about the matchups. We wish we could be hosting a home game and have a better seed, but it is do or die now. This is what we showed up in the summer for, and all the work we put in throughout the year, is for this moment. Now hopefully we can play far into March.”

LOU 9 12 13 18 — 52

HAR 9 19 13 16 — 57

LOUISBURG (8-12): Nathan Parker 5-12 4-7 18; Conlee Hovey 4-8 0-1 8; Brady Hickey 2-6 2-6 7; Luke Schultz 1-3 2-2 5; Luke Hill 1-3 2-2 5; Brock Vohs 1-4 1-2 3; Myles Vohs 1-5 0-0 2; Gavin Lohse 0-1 2-4 2; Jaymes Melton 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 16-43 13-24 52. 3-point field goals: 7, (Parker 4, Schultz, Hill, Hickey)

Wildcats roll Paola in final league contest

PAOLA — Louisburg got a chance to hand its rival a loss on its Senior Night and the Wildcats took full advantage. 

Louisburg made the short journey to Paola last Tuesday and the Wildcats spoiled the Panthers’ special night as the Wildcats used a big second half to pull away for a 46-29 win over the Panthers.

The last time the two teams met, the Wildcats forced a running clock and held the Panthers (0-20) scoreless in the second half. It was a much different game this time around as Louisburg held just a two-point lead at halftime.

“We knew this was a game they wanted to get, especially with it being their Senior Night, so we knew we were going to get their best shot and we did,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “They are still playing hard to their credit and we played well enough to get a win.”

Louisburg junior Myles Vohs got the Wildcats out to a good start as he knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to put the Wildcats up 11-4. Paola battled back and trimmed Louisburg’s lead to 21-19 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats ramped it up defensively as they held the Panthers to just 10 second half points, including a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

“Our goal in this game was to do better against a zone if they threw one at us because we have struggled with that a lot this year,” Doll said. “At the same time, I knew if we got out and pressed them that we could get them to turn over the ball. We didn’t do a very good job of that early, but in the fourth quarter we did a really good job of playing free and loose. We forced a lot of turnovers and that is what got us the win. Plus we hit free throws too and that helped a lot.”

On defense, the Wildcats forced 12 turnovers on the night and turned those into 14 points on the other end.

Senior Nathan Parker led Louisburg in scoring with 13 points, while Hickey added nine points and a team-high Sven rebounds in the win. Junior Conlee Hovey also pulled down seven rebounds, while junior Luke Schultz finished with a team-best four assists.

LOU 11 10 11 14 — 46

PAO 8 11 6 4 — 29

LOUISBURG: Nathan Parker 4-8 2-2 13; Brady Hickey 4-11 1-2 9; Myles Vohs 2-5 0-0 6; Luke Schultz 0-4 6-8 6; Brock Vohs 2-6 2-3 6; Conlee Hovey 2-4 1-2 5; Jaymes Melton 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 14-40 13-19 46. 3-point field goals: 5, (Parker 3, Vohs 2)

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