LMS seventh-grade boys finish season strong

By Andy Brown
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Updated: March 7, 2016

Louisburg Middle School seventh-grader Wyatt Axmann leaps in the air for a rebound during a home game earlier this season. The seventh-grade basketball team recently finished its season with an 8-8 record.

Every night the Louisburg Middle School seventh-grade boys basketball team took the floor, it seemed like it was always in a battle.

The Wildcats played in several overtime games and many of the games came down to the final one or two possessions. In the end, Louisburg won its fair share.

Following the Wildcats’ home triangular against Eudora and Baldwin on Feb. 28, Louisburg finished the season with an 8-8 record, including a 28-26 win over Baldwin in the season finale.

“I thought the year went well,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “It was a very balanced league as we split with every team except Wheatridge (lost twice) and Baldwin (won twice). I thought the kids improved a lot over the season. Every game was close and we won some and lost some. We had three overtime games and a couple of buzzer beaters at the end. They were a really good group of hard working boys.”

In the Wildcats’ game against Baldwin, Louisburg jumped out to a big lead in the first half and held off a late Baldwin rally in the second.

Louisburg jumped out to a 19-6 lead at halftime and the Wildcat defense rose to the occasion in the second quarter as they held Baldwin scoreless.

Connor Koesser led Louisburg in scoring with 11 points and Dawson Barnes and Jay Scollin each scored six. Andy Hupp and Wyatt Axmann added three and two points, respectively.

Connor Koesser puts up a shot in the lane during a game earlier this season at Louisburg Middle School.

The Wildcats got off to a good start to start the day against Eudora. Louisburg took a 13-11 lead into halftime, but Eudora outscored the Wildcats 12-2 in the third quarter, which proved to be the difference.

Koesser finished with a team-high eight points to lead Louisburg and Carson Houchen added five points in the loss. Scollin finished with four points, while Hupp, Axmann and Eli Johnson each had three. Trevin Lohse and Barnes both scored two points.

Playing for the Wildcat varsity this year were Trevin Lohse, Dawson Barnes, Carson Houchen, Jay Scollin, Andy Hupp, Wyatt Axmann, Connor Koesser, Eli Johnson, Ethan Shaffer, Keaton Light and Justin Collins.

Seventh-grade JV has strong season

The LMS seventh-grade junior varsity boys racked up plenty of wins this season, including its final action of the season when it defeated Baldwin and Eudora at its home triangular on Feb. 28.

The Wildcats finished their season with a 14-2 record as they got production from several different spots in their lineup.

“They had a great season,” Louisburg coach Jeff Lohse said. “The boys worked hard and played their best basketball towards the end of the year. They were a fun group to coach.”

Louisburg opened its home triangular against Eudora and came away with a 32-18 victory. Braden Aiken and Justin Collins led Louisburg with nine points each, while Chad Barnes added five points in the win.

It was even easier against Baldwin as Louisburg grabbed a 42-17 victory in its final game of the season. The Wildcats used a 15-3 run in the first quarter to pull away early.

Barnes led the Wildcats with nine points and Luke Dudzik finished with eight. Ben Wiedenmann also had six points in the win.

Playing for the Louisburg junior varsity team this season was Treston Carlson, Ethan Shaffer, Gunner Young, Denton Whiteside, Kaleb O’Keefe, Chad Barnes, Justin Collins, Luke Dudzik, Keaton Light, Jace Rader, Ben Wiedenmann, Johnny Eberhart and Braden Aiken.