Louisburg senior Garrett Rolofson battles for a rebound last Friday during the Wildcats’ game against Ottawa at Ottawa High School.

OTTAWA – The Louisburg boys
basketball team knew it had a difficult challenge on its hands Friday when it
had to travel to face off with No. 6 Ottawa.

The Cyclones are considered one of
the top teams in Class 4A, but after the first half was over, the Wildcats were
within just one point of the Cyclones when the third quarter began.

It was then the Cyclones took off.

Ottawa scored 39 second half
points and the Wildcats couldn’t keep pace as they fell 60-38 at Ottawa High
School. It was the second straight loss for Louisburg.

“Ottawa got off to a good start in
the second half,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They were able to get
to the lane a lot easier and we weren’t as good on help-side defense and they
have some kids who can really play. They were able to drive and kick it out and
they hit more shots in the second half, obviously.

“We have to start better than we
did. We got down seven and then I think that led to some unforced turnovers
where we tried to do too much. Defensively we struggled in the second half and
we aren’t going to be able to win many games giving up 40 points in a half.”

It was a back-and-forth first half
as the two teams traded leads on a couple different occasions. Late in the
first quarter, Louisburg took an 11-10 lead on a 3-pointer from Julian Margrave
and a putback from Garrett Rolofson.

The Wildcats also took a 20-19
advantage late in the first half on a drive from Weston Guetterman, but trailed
21-20 at halftime. Louisburg was also able to slow down Ottawa big man Kobe
Johnson to help keep the game close.

“Defensively we were really good
in the first half,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Our help-side
defense was good and we knew we were going to need that against Johnson as he
is a tough player to guard. He has a lot of varsity experience and he is as
physical of kid as we are going to play against this year. We did a good job on
him, but overall our intensity was good.

“We weren’t great by any means
offensively in the first half, but we were able to hang in there. We were
efficient, but we have to be able to put two halves together.”

Ottawa opened the second half on
an 11-0 run and scored 24 points in the third quarter to distance itself from
Louisburg.

Margrave led the Wildcats in
scoring with 16 points, including a dunk, and had six rebounds, while Weston
Guetterman finished with nine points on the night. Rolofson recorded a
team-high 10 rebounds.

Louisburg will try and bounce back
this Friday when it hosts Spring Hill for homecoming. Tipoff is set for 7:30
p.m.

LOU               11           9             9             9 – 38

OTT               13           8             24           15 – 60

LOUISBURG (6-9): Julian Margrave
6-17 16; Weston Guetterman 2-4 5-6 9; Garrett Rolofson 3-10 0-0 6; Ben
Guetterman 1-8 0-0 3; Michael Waldron 1-3 0-0 2; Charlie Peters 1-1 0-0 2.
Totals: 14-49 5-6 38. 3-point field goals: 5, (Margrave 4, B. Guetterman)

Louisburg junior Konnor Vohs drives into the lane Tuesday during the Wildcats’ game with Paola. The Wildcats fell 64-52 and are 6-8 on the year.

There are nights where everything seems to be going right, but there are others, like what Louisburg had on Friday, where things just never fall into place.

Foul trouble and tough shooting
cost the Wildcats in their home contest against rival Paola and they weren’t
able to recover in a 64-52 loss. It was a night where a lot went right for
Paola as it shot 54 percent from the floor and took advantage of its
opportunities.

“That is as good as I’ve seen
Paola play,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They were confident, and
when the ball goes through the hoop, you tend to get a little more energy and
they played well. We probably had a lot to do with that as we weren’t great
defensively. Offensively we were even worse.

“I thought we were getting good
looks, but we shot too many from the outside and I think we were settling for
shots too much. Our kids are good shooters and they are confident, but we are
struggling right now and are in a little bit of a funk. We have to find ways to
generate offense when shots aren’t falling from the outside. Hats off to Paola,
so they played really well.”

The Wildcats (6-8) weren’t able to
get in a rhythm offensively as junior point guard Weston Guetterman picked up
two quick fouls in the first quarter, then picked up his third early in the
second quarter and had to sit the rest of the half.

Louisburg managed just 20 points
in the first half, but the Wildcats trailed only 24-20 at halftime and were
still in it.

“Weston’s first two fouls weren’t
smart ones to pick up, and when he gets into foul trouble, it kind of changes
his game and it can take away his aggressiveness and that is what he is good
at,” Pfannenstiel said. “That definitely hurt us, but we have to find other
ways to keep things going when our guys get into foul trouble.”

In the second half, Paola was able
to catch fire offensively as it scored 22 points in the third quarter and built
a 12-point lead when Bo Robison had a put-back dunk off a missed shot with 1
second left to give the Panthers even more momentum.

Paola eventually pushed its lead to 15 points late in the contest and the Wildcats were unable to recover. Louisburg shot 34 percent for the game, but Paola was able to take advantage at the free-throw line as it converted 20 of 26 chances to just 6-for-8 for Louisburg.

Sophomore Julian Margrave led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points, while Weston Guetterman had 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Ben Guetterman also scored in double figures with 11 points and six rebounds.

Paola’s Trey Moala led all scorers with a game-high 21 points.

Louisburg will try and bounce back
Friday when it travels to Ottawa. The Cyclones are currently ranked No. 6 in
Class 4A.

“I have the ultimate confidence in
this group,” Pfannenstiel said. “I know that it is a group that wants to win
and that works hard. It is a group that has high expectations. We are going to
own up to it, look in the mirror – starting with me – and collectively get it
figured out. We are going to go about it the right way and we will be fine.”

LOU               5             15           14           18 – 52

PAO               9             15           22           18 – 64

LOUISBURG (6-8): Julian Margrave
8-14 0-0 17; Weston Guetterman 5-17 2-2 12; Ben Guetterman 3-10 3-4 11; Michael
Waldron 2-6 0-0 6; Maverick Rockers 1-4 1-2 4; Konnor Vohs 1-4 0-0 2. Totals:
22-59 6-8 52. 3-point field goals: 6, (B. Guetterman 2, Waldron 2, Rockers,
Margrave)

Senior Michael Waldron goes to the basket during the Wildcats’ game at Spring Hill last Friday. Louisburg defeated Baldwin on Saturday in a make-up game, 61-44.

The Louisburg boys basketball team was on a mini two-game losing skid going into Saturday’s home make-up game against Baldwin and was hoping for a much-needed win.

The Wildcats got what they were
looking for.

Louisburg outscored Baldwin by 18
points in the final three quarters thanks its pressure defense and came away
with a 61-44 victory to give the Wildcats their first win in a week.

Baldwin couldn’t keep up with
Louisburg on the inside either, as the Wildcats outrebounded the Bulldogs
54-35, including 25 offensive rebounds. Louisburg scored 21 points on those
second chance opportunities.

“I
was proud of how our guys responded,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I
thought we played hard and did a better job of executing on offense. We knew we
had a size advantage so we challenged them to hit the offensive boards to give
us some extra opportunities. They responded well.”

Baldwin
got out to a hot start, and actually led the Wildcats 17-16 at the end of the
first quarter, but Louisburg turned up the pressure and forced 14 Baldwin
turnovers that turned into 18 points.

The
Wildcats (6-7) outscored Baldwin 20-6 in the second quarter and carried that
momentum into the second half where they eventually built a 23-point lead in
the fourth quarter and never looked back.

“Baldwin
came out playing well,” Pfannenstiel said. “They were moving the ball well so it
was tough on our rotations. We pressed them a little more in the full
court in the second quarter, which turned out to be the difference we needed.” 

Junior Ben Guetterman was all over the floor for the Wildcats as he finished with a double double and led the team in steals. Guetterman scored a game-high 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three steals.

“Ben
has his best nights when he attacks the rim,” Pfannenstiel said. “He gets
involved on the offensive boards, which helps him play with a little more
energy and confidence.”

Sophomore
Julian Margrave also had a double-double for the Wildcats as he added 13 points
and a team-high 14 rebounds. Junior Weston Guetterman was the third Wildcat to
score in double figures with 12 points and had seven rebounds to go along with
four assists.

Junior
Konnor Vohs came off the bench to add six rebounds, three steals and two
assists, while senior Michael Waldron also finished with a team-high four
assists.

Louisburg
will try for back-to-back wins today when it hosts rival Paola and the Wildcats
will travel to Ottawa on Friday. Tonight’s tipoff is set for approximately 7:30
p.m.

LOU               16           20           16           9 – 61

BAL                17           6             7             14 – 44

LOUISBURG (6-7): Ben Guetterman
6-16 2-2 15; Julian Margrave 6-18 1-2 13; Weston Guetterman 4-14 2-2 12;
Garrett Rolofson 3-3 0-0 6; Maverick Rockers 2-5 0-0 5; Michael Seuferling 2-5
0-0 4; Konnor Vohs 2-6 0-0 4; Michael Waldron 0-5 1-2 1; Andy Hupp 0-3 1-2 1.
Totals: 25-75 7-10 61. 3-point field goals: 4, (W. Guetterman 2, Rockers, B.
Guetterman)

Wildcats struggle on the road in loss to Spring Hill

SPRING HILL – For the first half,
the Louisburg boys basketball team was playing stride-for-stride with Spring
Hill on Friday at Spring Hill High School.

The Wildcats went on a run late in
the second quarter to take a halftime lead and it seemed they had all the momentum.
Spring Hill took it all back in the second half as it held the Wildcats to just
12 points in the final two quarters and handed Louisburg a 51-34 loss.

“Spring
Hill got after us defensively,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They
made it tough on us to get into any kind of rhythm offensively. We
have to do a better job of matching their intensity and physicality. We
got exposed on that. We’ve had a couple poor shooting nights back to back, so
hopefully we can find some consistency offensively moving forward.”

Louisburg
shot 26 percent from the field and were just 1-for-12 from 3-point range. On
the other hand, the Broncos shots 41 percent and knocked down nine 3-pointers.

Down nine points in the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run that ended on a 3-pointer from Michael Waldron to give Louisburg a 22-21 halftime advantage.

Spring
Hill was able to take control of the second half and never looked back.

Junior
Weston Guetterman led the Wildcats in scoring with 13 points to go along with
five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Julian Margrave had six points and
seven rebounds, while senior Garrett Rolofson had six points and five rebounds.

LOU               10           12           6             6 – 34

SH                  14           7             17           13 – 51

LOUISBURG: Weston Guetterman 5-14
3-5 13; Garrett Rolofson 2-4 2-3 6; Julian Margrave 1-6 4-4 6; Michael Waldron
1-3 1-2 4; Maverick Rockers 1-5 1-1 3; Ben Guetterman 1-9 0-0 2. Totals: 11-43
11-15 34. 3-point field goals: 1, (Waldron)

Louisburg sophomore Maverick Rockers goes up for a shot Monday during the Wildcats’ game at Eudora. The Wildcats fell 65-58.

EUDORA – The Louisburg boys
basketball team was hoping to build off its momentum from the Baldwin
Invitational when the Wildcats traveled to Eudora on Monday for a make-up
contest.

The Wildcats just didn’t have
enough to keep up with the Cardinals.

Despite having a halftime lead,
Louisburg scored just seven points in the third quarter, which led to a 65-58
loss to Eudora.

“Hats off to Eudora, I thought
they played a solid game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They were
good defensively and we knew that coming in. They are a very disciplined team
and I think offensively that was one of their better nights from what I can
tell.

“We were kind of rolling there for
a while, but a lot of that was scoring inside, but we weren’t hitting anything
from the outside. We have to understand that we can’t continue to fire up shots
that aren’t in rhythm because a game can get away from us pretty quick and we just
have to do a better job with that.”

Eudora made things difficult on
the Wildcat defense as the Cardinals drove toward the basket and scored 32
points in the paint. That also allowed Eudora to knock down seven 3-pointers to
create a balanced attack.

“I think our guys were doing a
pretty good job of keeping them out of the paint, but our rotations were not
where they need to be,” Pfannenstiel said. “They were driving baseline and our
help defense was ok, but we were a little slow either to prevent the offensive
rebound or that little dump pass to the middle. We will be able to see that on
film and get that corrected. We just weren’t clicking on all cylinders.”

Louisburg (5-6) found itself down
17-15 at the end of the first quarter and Eudora extended that lead to 28-22
midway through the second. The Wildcats were able to make a run before halftime
and took the lead.

The Wildcats went on a 10-0 spurt to end the first half thanks to five straight points from Weston Guetterman, a basket from Garrett Rolofson and a 3-pointer from Maverick Rockers. Guetterman led the charge most of the night for Louisburg as he finished with 16 points, seven assists and played the entire game.

“Weston definitely played with the
most confidence that I have seen him play with all year,” Pfannenstiel said. “He
kind of took charge and I thought he was really good. That is what he has to be
for us. He has the ball in his hands a lot, and he creates a lot for us, so
hopefully he can build on this game.”

Eudora went on a run of its own to
start the third quarter as it went on a 12-2 spurt to grab a five-point lead
going into the fourth. The Cardinals would go on to extend the lead to 11 late
in the game and the Wildcats couldn’t recover.

Sophomore Julian Margrave had
another big game for the Wildcats as he finished with a team-high 21 points and
had six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Maverick Rockers came off the bench
to score nine points, while junior Ben Guetterman pulled down a team-high nine
rebounds.

Louisburg will try and bounce back
tonight when it travels to Spring Hill in a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is
set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               15           17           7             19 – 58

EUD               17           11           16           21 – 65

LOUISBURG (5-6): Julian Margrave
9-12 2-3 21; Weston Guetterman 5-16 6-8 16; Maverick Rockers 3-5 0-0 9; Garrett
Rolofson 3-5 0-0 6; Ben Guetterman 2-13 1-1 6. Totals: 22-57 9-12 58. 3-point
field goals: 5, (Rockers 3, B. Guetterman, Margrave)

The Louisburg boys basketball team receives its third-place trophy and celebrates its comeback victory over Bishop Seabury on Saturday at the Baldwin Invitational.

BALDWIN CITY – Everything seemed
to be going against the Louisburg boys basketball team.

The Wildcats had to play two games
in a span of six hours, they dealt with foul trouble and found themselves down
15 points in the third quarter to the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A in the
third-place game of the Baldwin Invitational.

Not exactly the recipe for a
comeback.

However, that is just what the
Wildcats did.

Louisburg overcame a 15-point
deficit to force overtime, and took advantage of its newfound opportunity, as the
Wildcats pulled away for a 70-63 win over Bishop Seabury for its highest finish
ever in the Baldwin Invitational.

“It was a huge win for us,”
Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We knew going into this tournament that
we needed to get a signature win and Seabury is a very, very good team. They
have good guards and they have good post players inside and they were putting
it on us in the first half. We challenged the kids at halftime and questioned
their toughness a little bit because they were able to do whatever they wanted
inside and had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half.

“To me it was all about effort. It
wasn’t that our kids weren’t playing hard, because I think they always do, but
there is another level of effort in us and obviously they showed that in the
second half. They went into an offensive funk and we hit some shots. We had to
take it one possession at time and we did.”

The Wildcats (5-5) whittled away
at the Seabury lead slowly but surely and it started with sophomore Julian
Margrave as he scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and in
overtime. He also added seven rebounds and two blocks.

Margrave hit a pair of free throws
to cut Seabury’s lead to five heading into the fourth quarter and the Wildcats
started to get its momentum from there.

It was still a five-point deficit
when senior Garrett Rolofson made back-to-back baskets, including one on an
assist from Ben Guetterman to make it 55-54. Then, after another defensive
stop, Guetterman knocked down a 3-pointer with under a minute left to put the
Wildcats up 57-55.

Seabury’s Zach Bloch hit a jumper
to tie the game with just seconds remaining to force overtime, but that didn’t
slow down the Wildcats much.

In the overtime, junior Weston
Guetterman drove the lane for a basket to the give the lead right back to
Louisburg and the Wildcats wouldn’t let it go. Ben Guetterman made another 3-pointer
to increase the lead to five and the Wildcats converted six straight free
throws, including four from Margrave, to secure the win.

“It was a great win,” Margrave
said. “We were able to come back thanks to a great effort from a lot of guys.
Pfannenstiel gave us a good talk at halftime and you could tell he was pretty
serious. That really gave us motivation for the second half.

“We needed everyone and everyone
showed out, whether it was a big offensive rebound, a defensive rebound, a
steal or even just great defense that doesn’t go in the stat book. That is the
stuff that helps us win and it is not always about points.”

Ben Guetterman had a big game for
the Wildcats despite picking up four fouls in the first half. Ben played
sparingly in the third quarter, but finished the game with 19 points and six
rebounds.

Margrave and Guetterman were later
named to the All-Tournament Team for their performance in their three games at
Baldwin.

Weston Guetterman also scored in
double figures with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists as he and Margrave
played nearly the entire game. Rolofson was three assists away from a
triple-double for the Wildcats as he finished with 10 points and a team-high 10
rebounds and seven assists.

“In the first half we had decent
looks, but the ball just wasn’t going in the basket,” Pfannenstiel said. “We
had to execute better in the second half and I thought we did that. Julian was
big for us and Ben played really well, especially having to play with some
fouls. Overall, I think everyone played to their role and it was a good team
win.”

Louisburg has another busy week
ahead of itself and it begins today when it travels to Eudora for a make-up
contest. The Wildcats will then play Spring Hill and Baldwin on Friday and
Saturday, respectively.

LOU               15           6             21           16           12 – 70

SEA                17           17           13           11           5 – 63

LOUISBURG (5-5): Julian Margrave
8-12 7-8 26; Ben Guetterman 7-18 2-2 19; Weston Guetterman 4-10 5-7 13; Garrett
Rolofson 5-8 0-2 10; Charlie Peters 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-56 14-21 70. 3-point
field goals: 6, (B. Guetterman 3, Margrave 3)

Wildcats fall to state-ranked Harmon

Louisburg knew it was going to
have its hands full against Harmon, the No. 3-ranked team in Class 6A, in the
semifinals Saturday morning in the Baldwin Invitational.

Harmon showed why it is considered
one of the best teams in the state.

The Wildcats fell behind early and
could never catch back up as they fell 68-46. Augusta would go on to beat
Harmon in the championship game, 54-46.

Harmon jumped out to a 21-7 lead at
the end of the first quarter and led 36-15 at halftime. It was a start the
Wildcats couldn’t recover from.

Sophomore Julian Margrave led Louisburg
in scoring with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals. Senior Michael Waldron
and junior Charlie Peters each finished with eight points, while Peters had a
team-high seven rebounds.

LOU               7             8             16           15 – 46

HAR               21           15           17           15 – 68

LOUISBURG: Julian Margrave 8-18
0-0 18; Michael Waldron 4-5 1-1 8; Charlie Peters 4-5 0-0 8; Weston Guetterman
2-9 2-2 6; Michael Seuferling 1-3 0-0 2; Maverick Rockers 1-2 0-1 2; Ben
Guetterman 1-9 0-0 2. Totals: 20-59 3-4 46. 3-point field goals: 3, (Margrave
2, Waldron)

Junior Konnor Vohs puts up a shot during Louisburg’s tournament opener against Bishop Ward on Tuesday in Baldwin City.

BALDWIN CITY – The Louisburg boys
basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Baldwin
Invitational on Tuesday and the Wildcats put themselves in position to make a
run at the tournament title.

Louisburg, the No. 4 seed, opened
play against No. 5 Bishop Ward at Baldwin High School and the Wildcats left no
doubt in this one. Louisburg held Bishop Ward to nine first half points and
cruised to a 63-25 win over the Cyclones.

The win pushes the Wildcats’
record to 4-4 on the season as they advance to the tournament semifinals.

“Our focus was to play a complete
game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We’ve played well in stretches,
but we’ve yet to be consistent for four quarters. I thought this was our first
game we were good on both sides of the ball for four quarters. Hopefully we can
build on that.”

The Wildcats started on the defensive end as they held Bishop Ward without point until 15 seconds left in the first quarter. They kept it going throughout the contest and the offense followed suit.

Louisburg took a 16-3 lead at the
end of the first quarter and then went on an 18-6 run in the second to go up
34-9 at halftime. The Wildcats added 23 more points in the third quarter and
all but sealed the win.

Sophomore Julian Margrave proved
to be a mismatch for Ward, especially inside, as he scored a game-high 17
points – 15 of which came in the first half – and was 8-for-11 from the field.
He also added a team-high eight rebounds.

“Julian had a nice game,” Pfannenstiel said. “He was aggressive
offensively and made some big plays. He can really get hot offensively, so hopefully
he can keep playing well.”

Everyone got involved in the
scoring as Pfannenstiel emptied his bench in the fourth quarter and all 12
players scored for the Wildcats.

Senior Michael Waldron was next
with nine points, while senior Garrett Rolofson had seven points, four steals
and three blocks. Junior point guard Weston Guetterman had a team-high seven
deflections to go along with five steals and four assists.

“It was good to get everyone a
good stretch of minutes of varsity action,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our kids
practice hard and compete for minutes every day in practice, so it was good to
see them all get an opportunity to play.”

The competition will get a lot
harder Friday when the Wildcats square off with the tournament’s No. 1 seed,
Harmon. Harmon is currently ranked No. 3 in Class 6A and beat Wellsville,
65-29. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

“Harmon is really
athletic and they are a deep team that returns almost everybody from last year,”
Pfannenstiel said. “They are the only remaining undefeated 6A team on the east
side of the state so we are going to have to be locked in and ready from start
to finish. Our kids are excited for the opportunity.”

LOU               16           18           23           6 – 63

BW                3             6             10           6 – 25

LOUISBURG (4-4): Julian Margrave
8-11 1-1 17; Michael Waldron 4-6 0-0 9; Garrett Rolofson 2-5 3-3 7; Ben
Guetterman 2-4 1-2 6; Michael Seuferling 2-5 0-0 4; Konnor Vohs 2-4 0-0 4;
Maverick Rockers 2-4 0-0 4; Charlie Peters 1-3 2-2 4; Dawson Barnes 1-2 0-0 3;
Weston Guetterman 1-3 0-0 2; Connor Koesser 1-3 0-0 2; Andy Hupp 0-2 1-3 1.
Totals: 26-52 8-11 63. 3-point field goals: 3, (B. Guetterman, Waldron, Barnes)

Louisburg’s Weston Guetterman drives to the basket during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats lost a close game to Frontenac on Saturday, 59-57.

With less than eight minutes left
in the game, the Louisburg boys basketball team was well on its way to a third
straight victory – that was until Frontenac decided to make one final run of
its own.

Frontenac scored 11 straight
points to take the lead, and after Louisburg’s Ben Guetterman tied it up on a
3-pointer with 10 seconds left, the Raiders’ Hayden Pile scored the game-winner
with two seconds remaining and the Wildcats fell in a 59-57 heartbreaker
Saturday in Louisburg.

It was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams each made runs at each other, but the Raiders were able to deliver the final blow.

“Frontenac is a good team,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They are long at every position, so we knew it would be tough inside.  Offensively we were good for 3 quarters, but we were really bad for the first 6 mins of the 4th which ended up being the difference in the game.

“I thought we executed really well the last two minutes and made some big plays to give us a chance.  Ben’s 3-point shot to tie it up was the biggest shot of the year for us so far. It’s too bad we couldn’t get a stop and play it out in overtime.”

Frontenac struck first as the Raiders took a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Wildcats were able to find a groove offensively in the second and third quarters.

Louisburg (3-4) scored 21 points
in the second quarter and used a 13-4 run to end the first half to take a 32-29
halftime advantage. Michael Waldron and Ben Guetterman hit back-to-back
3-pointers, and a Weston Guetterman layup cut the Frontenac lead to two.

Ben Guetterman hit his second of
four 3-pointers on the night, while Julian Margrave knocked down a basket to
give the Wildcats the halftime advantage. Waldron and Ben Guetterman knocked
down two more 3-pointers in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a six-point
lead late.

Louisburg held a 48-40 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Frontenac went on an 11-0 run to go up 51-48. Louisburg cut the deficit to 57-54 after a pair of Weston Guetterman free throws with 26 seconds left.

After Frontenac missed two free
throws, the Wildcats had a chance to tie the game and Ben Guetterman came
through as he knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.

Frontenac called timeout, and then drove the ball down the floor where the Raiders found Pile under the basket for game-winner with two seconds left.

“I thought we played well,” Pfannenstiel said. “It really was a back and forth game all night. We built a little lead there in the third and early fourth, but couldn’t hang on. We’ve got to find ways to stay out of droughts. That hurt us against Bonner and hurt us again. 

“It was tough on our kids, but we have to learn from it and move on. We always stress how important every possession is, no matter if it’s in the first, second, third, or fourth quarter. They all add up to the end total and we were one short time time.”

Margrave led all scorers with a
game-high 17 points and led Louisburg with eight rebounds. Ben Guetterman added
14 points in the loss, while Weston Guetterman added 10 to go along with six
rebounds. Waldron added eight points and a team-high four steals.

The Wildcats shot 39 percent for
the game, including seven 3-pointers. They were also 10-for-10 from the
free-throw line.

Louisburg will try and get back on
track today when it travels to the Baldwin Invitational Tournament and will
face off with Bishop Ward in the first round. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

LOU               11           21           14           11 – 57

FRON            16           13           11           19 – 59

LOUISBURG (3-4): Julian Margrave
7-15 2-2 17; Ben Guetterman 5-10 0-0 14; Weston Guetterman 3-12 4-4 10; Michael
Waldron 3-7 0-0 8; Garrett Rolofson 2-6 2-2 6; Konnor Vohs 0-1 2-2 2. Totals:
20-52 10-10 57. 3-point field goals: 7, (B. Guetterman 4, Waldron 2, Margrave)

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)

Louisburg senior Garrett Rolofson goes up for a basket during the Wildcats’ 64-52 win Tuesday over Turner. Rolofson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Louisburg
opened Tuesday’s road contest against Turner with 10 straight points, only to
see the Golden Bears respond with a big run of their own and put the Wildcats
in hole.

The Wildcats ended the game just
like they started – only bigger.

Louisburg dominated the fourth
quarter and rallied from an eight-point deficit to get a 64-52 victory over
Turner and win in convincing fashion. The Wildcats outscored the Golden Bears
21-5 in the final frame thanks to a different level of intensity.

“It was a great win for our guys,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We got into a funk there for a while after we had such a hot start. With it being the first game after break, you just never know what you are going to get on our end. It has been awhile since we have played, but for us to battle back was great to see and the energy in the fourth quarter was really, really good.”

A lot of that energy came from junior
Ben Guetterman and senior Garrett Rolofson, who both helped the Wildcats
dominate the glass in the fourth quarter, which led to a lot of second chance
points.

Guetterman, one of the team’s
starting guards, finished with a game-high 21 points and also added 16 rebounds
to help spark the Wildcats. Rolofson nearly had a double-double himself as he
added 14 points and nine boards. Both players had seven offensive rebounds on
the night and kept a lot of plays alive.

“Ben played really well and Rolo
played really tough inside,” Pfannenstiel said. “If those guys can continue
that, and then we can piece it together with the other guys, then we should be
alright.

“Ben is going to realize that he
can really score when he hits the offensive glass and he doesn’t just have to
hit from the outside. He has the ability to attack on the offensive rebounds
and get a lot of garbage points. Rolo did a really good job with that too. Our
energy was really good in the fourth quarter, and if we can do that for four
quarters, then we can do this any night out.”

Louisburg (2-3) was without one of
its leading scorers in Julian Margrave, who was out with an illness. Other
players had to fill in and the Wildcats were able to get good production from
their bench.

Sophomore Michael Seuferling saw
his first varsity action of the season and provided the Wildcats with some key
minutes as he finished with seven points. Junior Konnor Vohs also added six in
the win, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help jump start the
Wildcats’ run.

Point guard Weston Guetterman
added six points, but also finished with a team-high seven assists and also had
six rebounds.

“We had a couple guys come off the
bench and really gave us some good minutes there in crunch time,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought Michael came in and played really well. We had to have some
guys step up with Julian out, so we needed to have some guys score for us. Vohs,
Seuferling and those guys came in and brought good energy and that is what we
needed.”

The Wildcats opened the game on a
10-0 run, but Turner responded quickly as it went on a 17-2 spurt of its own to
take a five-point lead going into the second quarter.

Turner extended its lead to 10
points midway through the second quarter and later had an eight-point lead in the
third, before the Wildcats started to chip away.

Seuferling hit a jumper to cut the Turner lead to one early in the fourth quarter and then the Wildcat defense forced three straight turnovers. Louisburg took advantage as Ben Guetterman and Rolofson both scored on offensive rebounds to give the Wildcats the lead and then Vohs answered with a 3-pointer to put Louisburg up six.

Louisburg didn’t let up as it pulled away from the Bears the rest of the way and recorded its second win on the season.

“We switched to zone for a little bit
and I think that messed with them for a while,” Pfannenstiel said. “They missed
some shots and we were able to rebound out of it. I think we figured out pretty
quick that we need to get going. We played with some great energy in the
fourth.”

The Wildcats will try for
back-to-back wins Friday when they travel to Eudora in Frontier League action.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“Eudora is always very well
coached,” Pfannenstiel said. “They are a great program and have disciplined
players. It is good to go into league play with a win and we have a lot of games
coming up here. It will be a grind and we have a lot to do. Hopefully we can
continue to build some momentum.”

LOU               12           16           15           21 – 64

TUR               16           15           16           5 – 52

LOUISBURG (2-3): Ben Guetterman 9-17
1-1 21; Garrett Rolofson 5-12 4-6 14; Michael Seuferling 2-5 1-1 7; Weston
Guetterman 1-11 4-6 6; Konnor Vohs 2-3 1-2 6; Michael Waldron 2-4 0-0 5;
Charlie Peters 0-1 3-4 3; Maverick Rockers 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 22-57 15-23 64.
3-point field goals: 5, (B. Guetterman 2, Seuferling, Vohs, Waldron)

Louisburg senior Michael Waldron stretches out for a rebound Friday during the Wildcats’ home contest against Piper.

For two-and-a-half quarters Friday,
the Louisburg boys basketball team had the upper-hand on the defending state
champion and No. 1 team in Class 4A.

The Wildcats had Piper where they
wanted them, but foul trouble and a few turnovers derailed their upset hopes as
the Wildcats fell to the Pirates, 68-61, in the final game of 2019.

Despite the loss, the fact that
Louisburg was able to hang with the state’s No. 1 team for much of the game was
something the Wildcats hope to use as a momentum builder over the holiday
break.

“It gives our kids confidence,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We played with the defending state champs and the No. 1 team in the state that has played some good teams already. Our kids have to be very confident that we can play with, and beat anybody. That is type of team we will have to play in sub-state and there are some very talented teams at the top. We are going to have to execute a game plan like we did against Piper.”

That game plan was to force the
Pirates to pull up for jumpers and keep them out of transition. Louisburg was
able to do that for the most part as Piper was out of rhythm offensively and
the Wildcats were able to take a halftime lead.

The Wildcats (1-3) extended that
lead to seven points midway through the third quarter and all the momentum was in
their favor.

“We played tough,” Pfannenstiel
said. “Our kids played with such good energy, we created a good environment and
our students were really good. We basically went punch for punch with them, and
defensively, this was our best game of the year by far against a really dynamic
offensive team. They can really handle the ball and they have shooters
everywhere.

“That is a good team that we
played. To make them settle for pull-up jumpers, which was kind of our game
plan, and I thought our kids did a really good job of making them play good
help-side defense, packing the lane and making good close outs. It was a lot of
fun out there.”

The Wildcats got a bulk of their
scoring from three different players as junior point guard Weston Guetterman
finished with a team-high 20 points. Sophomore Julian Margrave finished with a
double-double as he had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Ben Guetterman
added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Louisburg had to play with some
adversity early in the third quarter as Weston Guetterman had to sit with four
fouls, which is around the same time Piper went on a big run to take the lead
back.

Piper went on a 16-4 run to end
the third quarter as the Pirates were able to get out in transition and knock
down a couple three-pointers.

“It was definitely tough not
having him out there because he is that important to our team,” Pfannenstiel
said of Weston. “He is very comfortable with the ball in his hands and does a
good job running the offense. He just needs to be a little smarter when it
comes to being more aggressive. Maverick (Rockers) came in and did a good job
handling the ball against very good defenders. We took care of the ball for the
most part against some pretty talented defenders.

“Weston and Julian have been
pretty consistent with what they have gotten every night so far this year and
we need to find that third scorer and Ben can provide that. (Michael) Waldron
can as well, but I think we all played to our strengths. We don’t need everyone
to go off for 18 necessarily, even though that would be nice, but everyone
knows their role offensively and I thought our kids played very well.”

Piper extended its lead to 12
points midway through the fourth quarter. Weston Guetterman scored five
straight points to cut the lead to seven, but it would be as close as the
Wildcats could get.

The Wildcats will try and bounce
back in the new year when they travel to Turner on Jan. 7.

LOU               13           13           14           21 – 61

PIP                 11           14           24           19 – 68

LOUISBURG (1-3): Weston Guetterman
5-8 8-8 20; Ben Guetterman 5-14 5-9 17; Julian Margrave 7-12 2-3 16; Michael
Waldron 2-6 1-2 6; Garrett Rolofson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-44 16-22 61. 3-point
field goals: 5, (W. Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman 2, Waldron 1)