Eudora uses big second half to get past Louisburg

By Andy Brown
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Updated: December 19, 2016

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg junior Dalton Ribordy puts up a shot over a couple Eudora defenders Tuesday at Louisburg High School. Ribordy finished with eight points in Louisburg’s 64-49 loss.

For the first 16 minutes, the Louisburg boys basketball team stayed right with state-ranked Eudora and even took a halftime lead.

The next 16 were a different story.

Eudora doubled up Louisburg in the third quarter and the No. 7 Cardinals spoiled the Wildcats’ home opener Tuesday and handed Louisburg a 64-49 loss at Louisburg High School.

The two teams battled back and forth at each other in the first half, but Louisburg took a four-point halftime lead and were able execute offensively. In the second half, Eudora made some adjustments and outscored the Wildcats 38-19 to pull away for the win.

“The first half we came out and were assertive,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We executed the game plan that we have been working on. We cut hard, we got position, we worked inside-out and got the posts involved with what we were trying to do.

“The second half we deviated away from it a little bit, took a timeout and got a little better, but we never got into a flow like we did in the first half. They started sagging on us a little more, but we still need to play an inside-out game.”

Senior Jayce Geiman pulls up for jumper Tuesday against Eudora.

Louisburg had a tough defensive assignment most of the night as the Wildcats had to keep an eye on Eudora’s Mitchell Ballock. The Cardinal senior, and Creighton University commit, led all scorers with 20 points.

Ballock scored eight of those points in the first quarter and then added a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to give Eudora a one point advantage. Louisburg senior Grant Harding had the assignment of guarding him early, but the calls didn’t go his way as he picked up his third foul with four minutes left in the first half.

“I thought Grant did a pretty good job on him early, but with the foul trouble we had to change some things up defensively,” Nelson said. “He is a good player, but I thought we were able to slow him down a little.”

The Wildcats (2-3) got off to a fast start as they took an early 9-3 lead on a 3-pointer from Harding, a pair of baskets from junior Dalton Ribordy and a reverse layup from senior Sam Guetterman.

Eudora went on a 14-6 run to take a 17-15 lead late in the quarter, but senior T.J. Dover tied it at 17-all and junior Ben Minster put the Wildcats on top with 45 seconds left in the period.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a mini 7-0 run on back-to-back baskets from senior Jake Hill and a 3-pointer from senior Jayce Geiman to take a 30-22 lead with two minutes left in the half. Eudora hit a pair of baskets, but the Wildcats still led by four at halftime.

The Cardinals were more aggressive to start the second half and outscored Louisburg 20-8 in the third quarter. Eudora did a lot of its damage from the free-throw line as it converted 9 of 9 opportunities in the frame.

“We were putting them on the line and I think we were a half-a-step slow on defense occasionally,” Nelson said. “At the same time, we just didn’t execute. We knew what we had to do, but we didn’t get it done. I think it is all a part of going through a long season and learning from your mistakes.”

Eudora took a 46-38 lead into the fourth, but the Wildcats weren’t able to get any closer. The Cardinals opened the fourth on a 12-3 run to seal the win.

Harding was one two Wildcats in double figures as he led Louisburg with 12 points and Geiman added 10 in the loss. Ribordy and Guetterman each finished with eight, while Guetterman led Louisburg with seven rebounds on the night.

Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight, but it will be against another state-ranked team. The Wildcats will travel to No. 3 Ottawa to continue Frontier League play in their final game before the holiday break.

“These are the two of the best teams in the state and why not see where we are at,” Nelson said of Ottawa and Eudora. “Ottawa has good players, so we will see what we can do. It will be a tough test for us.”

LOU 19 11 8 11 – 49

EUD 17 9 20 18 – 64

LOUISBURG (2-3): Grant Harding 12, Jayce Geiman 10, Sam Guetterman 8, Dalton Ribordy 8, Ben Minster 5, Jake Hill 4, T.J. Dover 2. Totals: 19-44 8-14 49. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Harding)