Wildcats’ season comes to close with loss to Anderson County

Louisburg senior Dylan DeShazer goes up for a shot Wednesday during the Class 4A sub-state semfinal game at Anderson County High School. DeShazer scored a team-high 16 points in the Wildcats’ 57-35 loss to Anderson County.

GARNETT – After a close first half during Wednesday’s Class 4A sub-state semifinal, the Louisburg boys basketball team was just 16 minutes from a shot at the sub-state championship game.

Louisburg, the No. 13 seed, trailed No. 4 Anderson County by just one point at halftime, but the second half provided a much different story – one that wasn’t a happy ending for Louisburg.

The Wildcats scored just 10 second half points and watched as Anderson County ended their season with a 57-35 loss at Anderson County High School.

Much of the game was decided from behind the 3-point line where the Bulldogs thrived with a 9-for-16 performance and the Wildcats were just 2-for-18 and shot just 30 percent for the game.

“That was the difference in the game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “It was just a cold night for us. We shot too many 3’s probably in the first half and should have looked to get the ball inside more. It wasn’t that they went on a big, fast run, it was just more methodical and we just couldn’t find a way to score. They just slowly stretched their lead and that is how the game goes sometimes.”

The two teams were involved in a close game back in December when the Wildcats traveled to Garnett and lost an 80-74 game in overtime.

Louisburg did better defensively this time around, but the Wildcats couldn’t get the offense to follow suit. Louisburg trailed 26-25 at halftime, but Anderson County knocked down several shots in the third quarter that led to a 19-6 run.

The Wildcats (9-12) had a tough time containing Anderson County senior Justin Rockers as he knocked down three 3-pointers during that stretch and made six overall. Rockers also scored a game-high 20 points and was one of three Bulldogs to score in double figures.

“Our guys were confident coming into the game and we knew this was a great opportunity for us,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were excited about coming back to Anderson County because we knew we had a shot. If we said going in that we would hold them to 57 points, I thought we would win because they are a high-flying team that really pushes the ball. We controlled the tempo for a while, but we just couldn’t score, especially in the second half.

“I was frustrated the very first possession because our game plan was to know where (Carter Powelson) and (Kass Allnutt) are and also know where (Rockers) is because if he gets his feet set he is going to hit it. We let Rockers get a wide open look on the first possession of the game and he knocked it down. He had a big night and we knew he was capable of that. Despite that, we played good enough defensively but we just couldn’t score.”

Louisburg senior Dylan DeShazer didn’t have a problem scoring as he put together one of his best efforts of the season. DeShazer finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and was the lone Wildcat to score in double figures.

Senior Brayden Gage was next on the team in scoring with six points and junior Madden Rutherford led the Wildcats with nine rebounds.

“Dylan was really good,” Pfannenstiel said. “He was tough in there and he was really smooth and confident shooting the ball. He had a big game for us and he almost single-handedly kept us in the game there in the first half. Every time they went on a little run he made some big shots and I was proud of him.”

Although the Wildcats saw their season come to a close, they saw a big improvement from a year ago, including in the win column as they jumped from two last season to nine this year.

It also marked the final game for Wildcat seniors Kohl Vogel, Noah Hill, Gage and DeShazer and Pfannenstiel appreciates what they gave to the program.

“I was very proud of what we have done,” he said. “Our league was just incredible this year. When you add Piper and Bonner Springs, two of the best teams in the state, that just added to our schedule. The Frontier League is just a beast night in and night out. We thought we could get a winning record, which was our goal, but we were close to getting there. Wins and losses aren’t the only deciding factor in moving our program forward.

“I told our kids that it starts during the summer with all the workouts that they did. We did shooting workouts five days a week for the first month-and-a-half of summer because we need to develop as shooters. I knew it would be popular at first, but figured numbers would drop off as the summer went on, but every day I flipped on the lights and there were 20 dudes there waiting on me. That got me excited because I knew they cared about getting better and they had all bought in. The work ethic and leadership that these seniors displayed is going to carry on for a long time, a lot more than the wins and losses.”

LOU               10           15           6             4 – 35

AC                  13           13           19           12 – 57

LOUISBURG (9-12): Dylan DeShazer 7-11 2-4 16; Brayden Gage 2-4 2-2 6; Kohl Vogel 2-11 0-2 4; Ben Guetterman 1-5 0-0 3; Michael Waldron 1-4 0-0 3; Julian Margrave 1-3 0-0 2; Weston Guetterman 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 14-47 5-10 35. 3-point field goals: 2, (B. Guetterman, Waldron)              

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