Wildcats hold on for win over Bonner Springs with late free throws

Louisburg senior Michael Waldron drives to the basket against the Bonner Springs defense Tuesday at Louisburg High School.

For more than half of the game, the Louisburg boys basketball team found itself in the driver’s seat Tuesday against Bonner Springs.

The Wildcats had a comfortable lead and were well on their way to back-to-back wins to start 2020. In the end, it became a little more interesting than they would have liked.

Bonner Springs cut a 16-point Louisburg lead to just one point with under a minute left, but senior Garrett Rolofson knocked down two free throws with nine seconds left help secure a 46-43 win for the Wildcats at Louisburg High School.

“It is never going to be easy,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “At times we looked really, really good and we were really focused – playing free and playing our style of basketball. Whatever it was in the second half, we just went into an offensive funk, started turning the ball over and just got real sloppy. We made it to where we were in a game again.

“Defensively, I thought we were good all night and I thought it was one of our best games on defense, especially in the first half. We stress that our defense has to be a constant every night. When shots aren’t falling, and your defense is good, then you have a chance. If we can consistently play defense then I think we are going to be alright.”

Louisburg (3-3) went on an 11-4 run in the second quarter to build a 31-15 lead over Bonner Springs and was up 12 points at halftime. The Wildcats maintained that advantage going into the fourth quarter, but the Braves chipped away at the Louisburg lead while the Wildcats went cold offensively.

The Wildcats had several shots rim out, while Bonner Springs used a 10-2 run to eventually cut the Louisburg lead to 44-43 with 46 seconds left. After both teams missed front ends of a one-in-one opportunity, Rolofson was fouled with nine seconds left and had an opportunity to give Louisburg a little cushion.

The Louisburg senior calmly made both opportunities and the Braves couldn’t find the bottom of the net in their final trip down the floor.

“Nothing was really going in for us,” Pfannenstiel said. “I think we had a layup and three free throws in the fourth quarter and two of those were Rolo’s there at the end. We went in a huge drought, and when you don’t see the ball go through the hoop, it can get kind of nerve-racking.

“Rolo is a kid that has worked really hard and he has earned his opportunity to take those shots. I couldn’t think of anyone that I would rather have shooting those shots. I have supreme confidence in what he has done and that was big for him to step up and knock those down.”

Weston Guetterman led the Wildcats with a team-high 13 points and three steals as he played all 32 minutes. Ben Guetterman also scored in double figures with 12, while Julian Margrave had seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Wildcats did a lot of their scoring from behind the arc as they knocked down seven 3-pointers on the night, despite shooting just 36 percent from the field. Still, Louisburg played well offensively in the first half, which forced Bonner Springs to do some different things on defense.

“We moved the ball well, took care of the ball and got them out of their zone,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were expecting to see some zone going into the game, and it is something we haven’t seen a lot of this year. We were hot enough that we were able to get them out of it and I was very pleased with how we played in the first half. But we have to be able to play well for four quarters if we are going to have a chance the rest of the way. Our goal is to continue to build and that is what we are doing.”

Louisburg will try for its third straight win Saturday when it hosts Frontenac in a make-up game from earlier in the season. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU               15           18           8             5 – 46

BON              11           10           8             14 – 43

LOUISBURG (3-3): Weston Guetterman 3-6 5-10 13; Ben Guetterman 5-13 0-1 12; Julian Margrave 3-6 0-0 7; Michael Waldron 2-10 0-0 6; Garrett Rolofson 1-4 2-3 4; Maverick Rockers 1-2 0-0 2; Connor Koesser 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 16-45 7-14 46. 3-point field goals: 7, (W. Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman 2, Waldron 2, Margrave)

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