Louisburg senior guard Brayden Gage passes the ball off to senior teammate Kohl Vogel during the Wildcats’ Senior Night game with Paola on Friday. The Wildcats rolled to a 51-33 victory.

The Louisburg boys basketball team
had a chance to sweep rival Paola last Friday during its Senior Night contest.

The Wildcats took full advantage.

Louisburg held Paola to just two
points in the first quarter and the Wildcats never let up in the 51-33 victory.
The win gave seniors Brayden Gage, Kohl Vogel, Dylan DeShazer and Noah Hill
some bragging rights as they played their final home game.

“It was definitely one of our
goals was to beat Paola and it meant everything with them being our rivals,”
Vogel said. “All of the seniors were ready to compete and that is what we did.”

Although they were able to pull
away offensively, the Wildcats (9-11) won the game on the defensive end as they
forced 28 Paola turnovers and Louisburg scored 20 points off of those mistakes.

Gage and Vogel and made things
difficult on the Panther offense as they consistently trapped the Paola ball
handlers at the top of the key and those steals led to several runouts.

For the game, Gage finished with a
team-high eight deflections and had four steals, while Vogel had a team-high
five steals to go along with a game-high 17 points.

“You could tell our kids had
something to play for and that the end of the season is near because we played
with that energy and really just made a lot of plays,” Louisburg Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “We started off slow, and with both teams playing zone,
sometimes that can happen, but our defense really sparked our offense. We got a
lot of steals, a lot of deflections and once we got confidence things really
kept going for us.”

Three of the four seniors got the Wildcats off to a good start as Hill started the game with four points, and in-between there was a Madden Rutherford 3-pointer to put Louisburg up 7-2. Vogel went on to hit a 3-pointer of his own, along with a pair of free throws and Gage hit a basket to give the Wildcats a 14-2 lead going into the second quarter.

The Wildcats expanded their lead
to 30-8 late in the second quarter after a basket from DeShazer and free throws
from Vogel, who went to the free-throw line 13 times for the game. Louisburg
went on to take a 31-13 halftime lead.

Along with the seniors, the Wildcats also got a good performance from sophomore guard Weston Guetterman as he joined Vogel in double figures with 11 points.

“It was a great team effort,”
Pfannenstiel said. “We talked the other day about everyone having their role
and they all have things that they do well. We just really stress that and
playing as a team and playing unselfish. Our energy was good and I thought
everyone was playing unselfish basketball. We don’t have any individual stars,
so it will take a great team effort to win and that was perfect heading into
postseason.”

Louisburg expanded its lead to 22 points at the end of the third quarter and the Wildcats were able to empty their bench in the fourth quarter to give their four seniors a nice ovation as they said their farewells.

“It was big to beat Paola on
Senior Night,” Gage said. “It is good to be able to say I was undefeated
against them my senior year in all sports. As for the other seniors, I think
they feel the same way and it was special that all four of us stepped up on
Senior Night and got the win.”

Postseason play now begins for the Wildcats as they are the No. 13 seed in the sub-state tournament and will travel to No. 4 Anderson County (14-5) for a 7 p.m., tipoff on Wednesday.

The winner of that game will play the winner of No. 5 Eudora (11-7) and No. 12 Tonganoxie (9-11) on Friday in the sub-state championship. Louisburg has played all three teams this season and have wins over Eudora and Tonganoxie and an overtime loss to Anderson County early in the season.

“They are familiar opponents, but
it has been awhile since we have played Anderson County and that is our only
focus right now,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have a little different look to us
now. We have added a little bit of depth. We were down DeShazer in that game
and I don’t think we went more than six deep at that time. It will be an
up-tempo game. They like to run and pressure, so we have to be able to play at
that tempo, but also know when it is time to be patient.”

LOU               14           17           14           6 – 51

PAO               2             11           10           10 – 33

LOUISBURG (9-11): Kohl Vogel 3-7
9-13 17; Weston Guetterman 4-5 1-2 11; Brayden Gage 3-8 0-1 6; Dylan DeShazer
1-4 3-6 5; Noah Hill 1-3 2-3 4; Ben Guetterman 1-3 0-0 3; Madden Rutherford 1-2
0-0 3; Julian Margrave 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 15-37 15-29 51. 3-point field goals:
6, (Vogel 2, W. Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman, Rutherford)

Louisburg sophomore Weston Guetterman drives to the basket during the second half of Tuesday’s game with Metro Academy.

Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty
Pfannenstiel was a little conflicted Tuesday following the Wildcats’ game with
Metro Academy.

On one hand, his team rallied from
25 points down to cut the Metro Academy lead to one late in Louisburg’s 63-60
loss. Pfannenstiel was more than pleased with his team’s fight.

However, as pleased as he was with
how his team finished, the Louisburg coach was just as frustrated with the start
as the Wildcats managed just 15 first half points and were on the verge of
having a running clock in the second half.

“That was a really good comeback,” Pfannenstiel said. “I wasn’t sure if we should be excited that we fought all the way back or that we should be mad that we came out so flat. I think it was disappointing how we started the game, but I thought we did a lot of nice things to get back in it and had a lot of guys that sparked us. We went with the hot hand and that group in the fourth quarter really carried us.

“We struggled to score early and
sometimes our energy is sparked when we see the ball go through the hoop and
sometimes it is getting the right guys on the court at the same time.”

The Wildcat underclassmen gave the
team the spark they were looking for as several of them made big baskets down
the stretch to get Louisburg back in it.

Junior Michael Waldron led the
Wildcats in scoring with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, as he keyed the
Wildcat comeback along with a few others. Freshman Julian Margrave came off the
bench to also finish in double figures with 13.

Madden Rutherford was able to help the Wildcats on both sides of the ball as he finished with eight points and had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (four). Sophomores Ben Guetterman and Weston Guetterman added seven and six points, respectively.

Early in the contest, the Wildcats
weren’t able to get in a rhythm offensively and Metro Academy took advantage.
Metro knocked down eight 3-pointers in the contest, many of those coming in the
first half, and took a 32-15 halftime lead.

“We were standing around and
watching, not crashing the board and not moving without the ball,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we were better in the second half. The gym was completely
quiet early on and we didn’t do a good job of communicating early. There were
times where I didn’t know what offense we were in because the guards weren’t getting
us set up. It was a weird start to it that is for sure, but those things add
up.”

The Wildcats will try and end
their regular season on a good night tonight when they host Paola. It is also
Senior Night for Louisburg as the Wildcats will honor Brayden Gage, Noah Hill,
Dylan DeShazer and Kohl Vogel for their time with the program.

“Our kids always get up for the
Paola game and they are going to be excited,” Pfannenstiel said. “Winning this
game is important because we want to send our seniors out on a good note, but also
to have some momentum going into sub-state. We want to enter the postseason
with as much confidence as we can.”

LOU               9             6             19           26 – 60

MA                20           12           16           15 – 63

LOUISBURG (8-11): Michael Waldron
4-8 2-2 14; Julian Margrave 6-11 0-0 13; Madden Rutherford 2-6 3-3 8; Ben
Guetterman 2-4 3-3 7; Weston Guetterman 1-4 4-5 6; Kohl Vogel 2-12 0-0 4;
Brayden Gage 2-4 0-0 4; Noah Hill 1-1 2-4 4. Totals: 20-54 14-17 60. 3-point
field goals: 6, (Waldron 4, Rutherford, Margrave)

Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel splits the Bonner Springs defense to put up a shot Thursday during the Wildcats’ game in Louisburg.

The Louisburg boys basketball team
knew it was going to be a difficult task Thursday when the Wildcats hosted
Bonner Springs, the No. 4-ranked team in Class 5A.

As it turned out, the Wildcats
were up for the challenge and even took a lead into the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Louisburg, Bonner Springs’ speed and athleticism won out in
the long run.

The Braves scored 48 points in the
second and third quarters as they downed Louisburg, 69-49, but the Wildcats
showed a lot of fight down the stretch despite being down double-digits in the
fourth quarter.

“I think we did some good things,
especially in the first half, before they were able to stretch the lead out a
little bit,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We got out of our
triangle-and-2 and tried to give them a little different look, but those kids
just really know how to score. They play really well and move without the ball
and find the weaknesses in your defense.

“I thought our kids executed
really well and made it tough on them, especially early on. We were playing
against some really quick guards and really good athletes, so there were a lot of
good things we could take away from this.”

Louisburg (8-10) slowed the game
down in the first quarter and eventually built a 12-10 lead going into the
second period before the Braves outscored the Wildcats 48-22 in the next two quarters.

The Wildcats had a tough time
containing the Braves’ trio of Alan Watson, Keyon Thomas and Rishaud Dockery.
Watson led all scorers with 23 points, while Thomas and Dockery scored 14 and
12 points, respectively.

Bonner Springs scored 29 points
off Wildcat turnovers and were able to score a lot of points in transition.

Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel led
the Wildcats in scoring with 11 points and sophomore Ben Guetterman also scored
in double figures with 10. Freshman Julian Margrave and junior Madden
Rutherford added eight and seven points, respectively.

The Wildcats have two final games
remaining before postseason basketball arrives. Louisburg will host Metro
Academy at 6:30 p.m. tonight before ending the regular season at home against
Paola for Senior Night.

Pfannenstiel believes this game,
along with the Wildcats’ win over Eudora before that, will give his team some
confidence heading into an important part of their season.

“We played a complete game against
Eudora earlier in the week, but this was a different speed and style of game,”
he said. “But we needed a game like this as a toughness factor because you have
to be strong with the ball and be quick and look ahead. If we can play with
that same fight and intensity in these next two games, I think we will be in
good shape.”

LOU               12           14           8             15 – 49

BON              10           26           22           11 – 69

LOUISBURG (8-10): Kohl Vogel 5-10
0-0 11; Ben Guetterman 3-7 2-2 10; Julian Margrave 3-4 0-0 8; Madden Rutherford
3-4 0-1 7; Dylan DeShazer 2-4 1-4 5; Michael Waldron 1-5 1-3 3; Weston
Guetterman 1-3 0-0 2; Noah Hill 0-1 2-4 2; Brayden Gage 0-3 1-2 1. Totals:
18-42 7-16 49. 3-point field goals: 6, (B. Guetterman 2, Margrave 2, Vogel,
Rutherford)

Louisburg senior Brayden Gage glides to the basket for two points Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home win Tuesday over Eudora.

For the better part of a decade,
the Louisburg boys basketball team has found zero success against Eudora.

Wins have been impossible to come
by against the Cardinals and that included Louisburg’s 28-point loss to Eudora
earlier in the season.

Mission impossible became possible for the Wildcats.

Louisburg held Eudora to just four
points in the third quarter and put together an consistent offensive effort in
its 49-39 victory Tuesday at Louisburg High School. The win improved the
Wildcats’ record to 8-9 on the season and left for a happy locker room when it
was all over.

“For us to lose the way we did
against them the first time, we got it put on us pretty good, so it was a great
win for sure,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Obviously they are
missing their key guy, but they are still a really good team. Their bigs are
tough inside and they get really good position and are well-coached. It was important
for us to get a win and it was a signature win that our program needed. Our
kids are excited, for sure. That was a good basketball game.”

It was a back and forth first half
that ended with a three-point Louisburg lead at halftime after senior Kohl
Vogel knocked down a 3-pointer and freshman Julian Margrave made two free
throws.

Louisburg’s defense stepped it up in the third quarter as it held the Cardinals’ offense in check and Vogel stepped up on the offensive end. Vogel scored five straight points and sophomore Ben Guetterman knocked down a 3-pointer to give Louisburg a nine-point lead.

Senior Brayden Gage made a runner
in the lane late in the period, and Margrave knocked down a 3-pointer to put
Louisburg up 12 going into the fourth quarter.

Vogel was a spark offensively for the Wildcats as he finished with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds, while Margrave was next with eight points. Senior Dylan DeShazer and Gage each added seven points.

Junior Madden Rutherford also
finished with seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.

“Kohl is our consistent offensive
threat, for sure,” Pfannenstiel said. “He just finds ways to slash and score. I
thought he was really good. We need him to score 16 to 20 points a game for us
to be successful. The guys did a good job of getting the ball to him. We went
back to wanting to push the ball a little bit more and I think that helps us
out. I think that is Kohl’s game is getting out in transition.”

Eudora made things interesting in the
fourth quarter as it cut the Wildcat lead to six and Louisburg had to call a
couple different timeouts during that stretch. Louisburg would knock down its
free throws in the final minutes as Gage converted a 3-point play and sophomore
Weston Guetterman also hit a bucket to seal the win.

“It is almost like we got a little
lead and then we started to relax a little bit,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have to
learn play with a lead and the reason we got that lead to begin with was
because we are disciplined fundamentally. I was proud of the way we responded
because there have been times where things have gone downhill and they have
continued to go downhill.”

Louisburg returns to action tonight
when it host Bonner Springs in what is its first of three straight games at
home to end the season. The game was moved from Friday due to weather concerns.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               10           14           13           12 – 49

EUD               11           10           4             14 – 39

LOUISBURG (8-9): Kohl Vogel 7-11
1-1 18; Julian Margrave 2-2 2-2 8; Brayden Gage 3-4 1-1 7; Dylan DeShazer 2-5
2-2 7; Ben Guetterman 1-5 0-0 3; Weston Guetterman 1-3 0-2 2; Noah Hill 1-2 0-0
2; Madden Rutherford 0-3 2-4 2. Totals: 17-37 8-12 49. 3-point field goals: 7,
(Vogel 3, Margrave 2, DeShazer, B. Guetterman)

Louisburg sophomore Ben Guetterman puts up a shot over a couple Spring Hill defenders Friday during the Wildcats’ game at Spring Hill High School.

SPRING HILL – Friday’s game with
Spring Hill was one the Louisburg boys basketball team would quickly like to
forget.

Offense for the Wildcats was
limited, and despite a solid defensive effort, Louisburg couldn’t get the road
win it was looking for in a 48-25 loss to the Broncos at Spring Hill High
School.

The Wildcats (7-9) put themselves
in a big hole early on as Louisburg went scoreless in the second quarter and
were outscored 27-5 in the second and third quarters. Louisburg had a difficult
time against Spring Hill’s length as it couldn’t get a good shot against the
Broncos’ zone defense.

“Spring Hill took us out of rhythm a little bit,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I knew they had that zone in their pocket and I am surprised they didn’t use it the first time we played them. That is the first time a team we have played has primarily went zone against us. We have seen it a few times here and there, but with their length, they were able to cause some problems for us. We were pretty passive against it, we didn’t’ pass really well out of it and we didn’t catch ready to shoot.

“To not score at all in the second
quarter just really took us out of it and never really allowed us to get back
in it. We have to find ways to score no matter what someone is playing against
us and we just didn’t have it this time. Defensively I thought we played
alright and holding them under 50 is about where we want to be. We have to be
able to put the ball in the bucket.”

It was a competitive game after
the first quarter as Louisburg trailed just 12-9, but Spring Hill outscored the
Wildcats 10-0 in the second quarter and 17-5 in the third to pull away.

Louisburg had a tough time containing Spring Hill senior Brennen Feeback as he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

“He is just consistent,”
Pfannenstiel said of Feeback. “In all the games I have coached against him he
has probably been around the 15-20 point mark each time. He is a consistent
player and he has a lot of energy and bounce. He is a great player and he is
tough to stop.”

Wildcat senior Kohl Vogel led
Louisburg in scoring with 10 points, but was the lone Wildcat to reach double
figures.

The Wildcats return to action
Tuesday when they host Eudora for their first of four straight home games
before the start of the postseason. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“We will get home and face a couple good teams in Eudora and Bonner Springs this week,” Pfannenstiel said. “It will be great to play in front of our fans again and hopefully we can get a little momentum going.”

LOU               9             0             5             11 – 25

SH                  12           10           17           9 – 48

LOUISBURG (7-9): Kohl Vogel 4-9
0-1 10; Dylan DeShazer 2-4 0-1 4; Weston Guetterman 1-3 1-2 3; Brayden Gage 1-4
0-1 2; Noah Hill 1-5 0-0 2; Ben Guetterman 1-7 0-0 2; Madden Rutherford 1-2 0-0
2. Totals: 11-41 1-5 25. 3-point field goals: 2, (Vogel 2)

Louisburg junior Madden Rutherford puts up a shot over an Ottawa defender Friday during the Wildcats’ homecoming game.

The Louisburg boys basketball team
needed to play one of its better games of the season Friday when it hosted
state-ranked Ottawa for homecoming.

Ottawa was ranked No. 6 in Class
4A coming into the game and the Wildcats had a big challenge on their hands. As
it turned out, Louisburg was more than ready for the Cyclones.

The Wildcats stayed within striking distance for much of the game, and even trailed by just three points with under two minutes left, but couldn’t get that key shot to go down in a 61-49 loss.

“I was definitely proud with the way
our guys fought and battled and pretty good Ottawa team,” Louisburg coach Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “This was a game we can definitely learn things from and get
better. It seemed like we just couldn’t get that big shot to fall to get the
lead there late, and I know some of the guys are frustrated, but we did some
good things out there.”

Louisburg (7-8) found itself down
six points at the end of the first quarter and the Wildcats lit it up from behind
the arch in the second quarter to cut into the Cyclone lead even more.
Louisburg knocked down four 3-pointers in the frame, including three from
Michael Waldron, who finished with a team-high nine points.

Freshman Julian Margrave also came off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer and senior Noah Hill had a couple big makes under the basket.

“Michael had a really good game
for us and probably one of his best ones,” Pfannenstiel said. “He had a really
great night shooting the ball and did some nice things. Michael, along with Ben
Guetterman, and now Julian, have given us some consistent perimeter shooting
and hopefully some others will be able to step up in that area as well.”

The Wildcats, which trailed 29-24
at halftime, hung around in the second half and threatened the Cyclones late in
the game when senior Brayden Gage knocked down a 3-pointer with 1 minute and 45
seconds left in the game to cut the Ottawa lead to 3.

Louisburg had a chance to tie the game following that possession, but couldn’t get the shots to fall. The Wildcats got good opportunities most of the night thanks to a patient offense.

“We have been much more patient
when we get into an offensive set and that is something that we needed to work
on because sometimes we have gotten out of control,” Pfannenstiel said. “But it
was almost to a fault that we didn’t run enough. Ottawa is kind of a big,
lumbering team and we should have gotten more run outs and we should have
emphasized it more. If we can get back to pushing the ball a little more, it
will add a dimension to our team.”

Defense was another reason the
Wildcats were able to hang around as they switched from a zone defense to a
man, which gave the Cyclones a different look. Louisburg was able to force 14
Ottawa turnovers, which led to some run outs, but the Wildcats missed a few easy
attempts in the first half.

“We got down early and they had a
great plan against our 1-3-1 and they did some things that we haven’t seen yet,”
Pfannenstiel said. “They were able to throw it over the top and find a weakness
in that zone. I was just proud of the way we battled back and we were right
there. I think we missed three easy layups in the first half and you can’t do
that stuff. That would have been huge going into halftime with a lead.

“I was a little worried at
halftime because our energy didn’t seem right, but we picked it up in the
second half we were more aggressive playing man and we were concerned about how
effective we would be in it. I think we proved that we can be confident in it.”

Senior Dylan DeShazer tied Waldron
with a team-best nine points, while Hill and senior Kohl Vogel added eight
points each in the loss.

Louisburg returns to action Friday
for its final regular season road game when it travels to Spring Hill. Tipoff
has been moved up to 6:45 p.m.

LOU               8             16           14           11 – 49

OTT               14           15           15           17 – 61

LOUISBURG (7-8): Dylan DeShazer 4
1-1 9; Michael Waldron 3 0-0 9; Kohl Vogel 3 0-0 8; Noah Hill 3 2-3 8; Julian
Margrave 2 0-0 5; Madden Rutherford 2 0-0 4; Ben Guetterman 1 1-1 3; Brayden
Gage 1 0-0 3. Totals: 19 4-5 49. 3-point field goals: 7, (Waldron 3, Vogel 2,
Gage, Margrave)

LOUISBURG RALLIES TO BEAT BALDWIN

For more than half of the game,
the Louisburg boys basketball team was trying to play catch-up after a bad
start against Baldwin last Thursday.

The Wildcats gave up 21 points in the first quarter and were in a big hole early. Louisburg didn’t let that bad start get them down as the Wildcats battled back to take the lead in the third quarter and eventually pulled away for a 71-61 win in Baldwin City.

Louisburg trailed 21-11 after the
first quarter, but the Wildcat offense picked up as it scored 25 points in the
second and trailed by just four at halftime.

It was the Wildcat defense that
rose to the occasion in the second half as it held Baldwin to just five points
in the third quarter and forced 19 turnovers for the game. Louisburg turned
those 19 turnovers into 24 points, which was key in its comeback.

Kohl Vogel led the Wildcats in
scoring with 14 points and the Louisburg senior also finished with five
assists. Sophomore Weston Guetterman and senior Dylan DeShazer each finished in
double figures with 11, while DeShazer also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Senior guard Brayden Gage also had
a strong game with nine points and six assists. Fellow senior Noah Hill
finished the game with seven points, five rebounds and five assists as nine
different Wildcats scored in the game.

LOU               11           25           14           21 – 71

BAL                21           19           5             16 – 61

LOUISBURG: Kohl Vogel 5-12 4-6 14;
Weston Guetterman 4-9 2-3 11; Dylan DeShazer 4-7 3-3 11; Brayden Gage 2-5 4-9
9; Ben Guetterman 2-6 2-2 10; Noah Hill 3-6 1-3 7; Michael Waldron 2-2 0-0 5;
Julian Margrave 2-2 0-0 4; Madden Rutherford 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 25-54 16-26 71.
3-point field goals: 5, (B. Guetterman 2, W. Guetterman, Gage, Waldron)

Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel pulls up for a shot in the lane Tuesday against Paola at Paola High School. Vogel scored a game-high 18 points in the win.

PAOLA – The Louisburg boys
basketball team needed a win in the worst way as the Wildcats had dropped five
of their last six games heading into Tuesday’s contest with Paola.

If the Wildcats were to get back
on the right track, they were going to have to get a win on their rival’s home
floor.

Louisburg was more than up for the
task. The Wildcat defense held Paola to just 11 second half points and got its
second win of 2019 with a 46-33 victory over the Panthers.

“It was exactly what we needed,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Obviously both sides are going to get up for this game and it is always very emotional and high energy. It was a defensive struggle and both teams played really tough defense, and to hold them to 33 is important for us. It is nice to get us off that losing streak where we were one for our last six. Hopefully we can build off this.”

Defensively, the Wildcats were the aggressor as they forced 28 turnovers – many of those coming in the second half – and took advantage of the Panther mistakes. Louisburg scored 24 points off Paola turnovers and was a big reason for its second half surge.

It was a surge the Wildcats needed
to make as they trailed Paola, 22-21, at halftime and they had to look for a way
to jump start their offense.

“We were a little more aggressive,” Pfannenstiel said of his defense. “Sometimes we just sit back in our 2-3 zone and Paola’s offense looked a lot more comfortable versus that than our 1-3-1. Obviously our defense sparked our offense getting layups and run-outs and that was big for our energy level. It wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard, but we were just going through the motions and never got anything going.”

Senior Kohl Vogel led the Wildcats
in scoring with 18 points and it was Vogel who helped get this team going late
in the third quarter when he scored six straight points. Vogel made a runner to
put Louisburg up three, then had a steal and score and then followed it up with
another basket 15 seconds later on a steal by Madden Rutherford.

Rutherford recorded a team-high
seven rebounds and senior Brayden Gage led Louisburg with four assists and four
steals. Senior Dylan DeShazer was second on the team in scoring with eight and
fellow senior Noah Hill had seven.

Vogel added six more points to
begin the fourth quarter to put Louisburg up 13 points with five minutes left
in the game and the Wildcats were able to hold on for the big win.

“We have been in quite a few games
this year, and to be able to execute and finish the game was big and we needed
that,” Pfannenstiel said. “I thought we played well for four quarters and I
knew it was going to take a complete game to get a win and we did pretty well.”

Louisburg will try and continue
its winning ways tonight when it hosts Ottawa, the No. 6 team in Class 4A, for
homecoming. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               12           9             12           13 – 46

PAO               11           11           7             4 – 33

LOUISBURG (6-7): Kohl Vogel 8-14
2-2 18; Dylan DeShazer 3-4 1-3 8; Noah Hill 3-5 1-3 7; Ben Guetterman 2-5 1-2
6; Michael Waldron 2-2 0-0 5; Madden Rutherford 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 19-40 5-11
46. 3-point field goals: 3, (Guetterman, Waldron, DeShazer)

Louisburg sophomore Ben Guetterman tries to drive to the basket Friday during the Wildcats’ home game against Spring Hill.

The opportunity to get a big home win for the Louisburg boys basketball team was laid out for the Wildcats to take.

Louisburg had just gone on a run
to take a five-point lead going into the fourth quarter Friday against Spring
Hill. The momentum was all the side of the Wildcats, but unfortunately for
Louisburg, the final period was all Spring Hill.

The Wildcats struggled offensively
in the fourth quarter and the Broncos took advantage as they handed Louisburg a
50-43 loss.

For much of the game, the Wildcat
defense was the difference as they forced 16 Spring Hill turnovers, including
several that came off a full-court press. Offensively, however, Louisburg managed
just six points in the final eight minutes and Spring Hill mounted the
comeback.

“Spring Hill turned the ball over
quite a bit and I think we had a lot to do with that,” Louisburg coach Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “Our slow-down press kind of caused them some problems and
we made them uncomfortable. We have to be able to execute off that. We had the
lead going into the fourth and we always tend to have one of those bad quarters
where we score in the single digits and you are not going to win many games
when you have quarters like that.”

Louisburg struggled shooting the
ball for much of the night as it shot just 29 percent from the field, and
outside of senior Kohl Vogel, who finished with a game-high 18 points, the
Wildcats didn’t have anyone else score in double figures.

Junior Michael Waldron and sophomore
Ben Guetterman each finished with eight points, and both connected on 3-pointers
at big moments in the game.

“I thought Waldron and Ben shot
the ball well for us, but overall we were like 4-20 from 3-point range,”
Pfannenstiel said. “If we are going to shoot that many, then we better start
hitting some and we need to figure out if we are shooters or not. If not, then
we have to find other ways to put the ball in the basket. You have to step up
and make plays in games like this and they just made more than we did,
especially in the fourth.”

Spring Hill took a 17-10 lead at
the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats battled back to trim the Bronco
lead just one at halftime. Louisburg then went on a 7-1 run to end the third to
grab a 37-32 advantage.

Vogel scored a basket and two free
throws during that run, while Guetterman hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats
some momentum.

The Wildcats, however, had a hard
time containing Spring Hill’s Brennan Feeback. The Bronco senior hit several
big shots as he scored a game-high 20 points and also had 15 rebounds.

“Feeback made some great plays for
them as well and we needed to take away his opportunities and eliminate their
best players,” Pfannenstiel said. “We took care of the ball well. We had some
bad turnovers, but 10 turnovers is by far our least of the season and I thought
that was a positive. We were patient on offense, but we have to find ways to
score and shoot the ball better from the outside.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back
today when it travels to Paola in what is the first of three games this week.
The Wildcats will also to travel to Baldwin on Wednesday before hosting Ottawa
on Friday for homecoming.

“The good thing about basketball
is you don’t have to wait long to get right back on the court,” Pfannenstiel
said. “We have a busy week coming with three games this week and playing Paola
is always a big game for our players and we played them well there last year.
Hopefully we can turn things around.”

LOU               10           12           15           6 – 43

SH                  17           6             9             18 – 50

LOUISBURG (5-7): Kohl Vogel 6-15
6-6 18; Ben Guetterman 3-5 0-0 8; Michael Waldron 3-7 0-0 8; Noah Hill 2-4 0-0
4; Madden Rutherford 1-8 1-4 3; Dylan DeShazer 1-9 0-2 2. Totals: 16-55 7-12
43. 3-point field goals: 4, (Guetterman 2, Waldron 2)

Louisburg senior Dylan DeShazer puts up a shot during the Baldwin Invitational last week at Baldwin High School.

BALDWIN CITY – For three of the
four quarters, the Louisburg boys basketball team actually bested Wellsville on
Friday during the fifth-place game of the Baldwin Invitational.

It was the third quarter, however,
that helped send the Wildcats home with a loss.

Louisburg scored just four points
in the third quarter, and despite a furious rally in the fourth, the Wildcats
couldn’t make the comeback in the 64-53 loss to the Eagles at Baldwin High
School.

“We knew Wellsville was going to be a
tough test for us,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They are a very
patient and disciplined team. They shot the ball really well coming out after
halftime and only missed three shots in the third quarter. We were really bad
offensively.”

Wellsville outscored Louisburg 21-4 in
the third period after the Wildcats trailed by just one point at halftime.
Louisburg outscored Wellsville 24-17 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t
enough.

Kohl Vogel had another big game for the
Wildcats with a team-high 14 points, while fellow senior Brayden Gage added 12
points and senior Dylan DeShazer added nine.

The Wildcats (5-6) had a tough time
containing the Wellsville dynamic duo of Jackson Dwyer and Zach Vance. The two
players each finished with 22 points and combined for 44 of the Eagles’ 64
points.

“I was proud of how we fought back in the
fourth quarter,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were able to cut their lead to seven
points in the fourth, but they hit a couple more big shots that proved too much
to overcome. If you take away the third quarter, we played pretty
well.  But obviously you have to play well for all four quarters and we
just didn’t do that I think there is a lot to be learned from this game
and hopefully we can come back and be more consistent.”

Louisburg will try and get back on track
Friday when it hosts Spring Hill. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               13           12           4             24 – 53

WEL              15           11           21           17 – 64

LOUISBURG (5-6): Kohl Vogel 5-9
3-4 14; Brayden Gage 4-8 3-6 12; Dylan DeShazer 4-5 1-2 9; Noah Hill 3-4 1-1 7;
Madden Rutherford 2-7 1-2 6; Weston Guetterman 1-5 1-1 3; Michael Waldron 1-3
0-0 2. Totals: 20-43 10-16 53. 3-point field goals: 3, (Vogel, Gage,
Rutherford)

Louisburg senior Brayden Gage gets to the basket for two points Thursday during the consolation semifinal game of the Baldwin Invitational against Bishop Ward. The Wildcats won 58-40.

BALDWIN CITY – Coming off a
difficult loss to begin the Baldwin Invitational, the Louisburg boys basketball
team needed to make amends quickly.

The Wildcats were on a three-game
losing skid going into Thursday’s consolation semifinal against Bishop Ward and
they wanted get things back on track in this tournament before heading back
into Frontier League play.

Louisburg got the win it was looking for as the Wildcats downed Bishop Ward, 58-40, behind a big second half in which they outscored the Cyclones 37-23.

“We were just more patient on
offense and we were getting better shots,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we worked the offense a lot better than we did in our first
game here. The first half wasn’t pretty because shots just weren’t falling, but
we were taking good shots. The second half our defense really sparked our
offense and I thought we were a lot better defensively and it got us going.”

It was a balanced effort from the
Wildcats as two players scored in double figures and eight different players
found the scoring column.

Senior Noah Hill had a big night
with a team-high 12 points before having to leave the game in the second half
due to an injury. Senior guard Brayden Gage also picked it up as he finished
with 11.

Sophomore guard Weston Guetterman
added eight points in the win, while senior Kohl Vogel finished with seven.
Junior Michael Waldron added a pair of 3-pointers to the cause and freshman
Julian Margrave came off the bench to score his first varsity points as he
finished with six.

“It was good to see a bunch a
different guys contribute and not just rely on one or two guys,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we moved the ball around well, especially in the second half,
and more guys were able to contribute for us. We were able to play a few extra
guys as well, which I think will allow us to play even harder moving forward.”

The Wildcats (5-5) found themselves
in close battle with the Cyclones in the first half as they led just 21-17 at
halftime. Louisburg was able to overcome some turnovers problems in the second half
as it got key baskets down the stretch to pull away.

Louisburg will try and finish the
Baldwin tournament with a two straight wins tonight when it faces off with Wellsville
at 7 p.m., in the fifth-place game.

“We want to get a on a roll here
and it was nice to be able to break that three-game losing streak we were on,”
Pfannenstiel said. “Hopefully we can get some momentum going heading back into
league play. Wellsville is a very disciplined team and a very patient team.
They play incredibly hard and they play smart, so we are going to have to play
a very good game if we want to be able to win.”

LOU               11           10           19           18 – 58

BW                10           7             13           10 – 40

LOUISBURG (5-5): Noah Hill 5 2-3
12; Brayden Gage 5 0-0 11; Weston Guetterman 4 0-2 8; Kohl Vogel 3 1-2 7;
Michael Waldron 2 0-0 6; Julian Margrave 2 1-1 6; Dylan DeShazer 1 3-4 5;
Madden Rutherford 1 1-2 3. Totals: 23 8-14 58. 3-point field goals: 4, (Waldron
2, Gage, Margrave)

WILDCATS COME UP SHORT AGAINST
HARMON

Louisburg couldn’t have asked for
a better start to the Baldwin Invitational on Tuesday as it opened with Harmon.

The Wildcats went on a run to
start the first quarter and jumped out to a double-digit lead. Unfortunately,
Louisburg wasn’t able to keep its momentum as it fell to Harmon, 51-45.

Louisburg jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first quarter, but took a step back in the second quarter to allow Harmon to get back into the game. Despite a back-and-forth third quarter, Harmon used a 15-8 run in the fourth to seal the win.

“It was a tough loss,” Louisburg
coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I thought we played pretty well for three
quarters, but got a little bit out of sorts offensively in the fourth quarter.
We just turned the ball over way too many times and that has been our Achilles heel.”

Senior Kohl Vogel tried to keep
the Wildcats in the game as he finished with a team-high 22 points and had six
rebounds. Senior Dylan DeShazer just missed double figures with nine points,
but also had a team-high seven rebounds.

LOU               16           6             15           8 – 45

HAR               2             18           16           15 – 51

LOUISBURG: Kohl Vogel 10-18 0-1
22; Dylan DeShazer 3-12 2-2 9; Brayden Gage 1-5 3-4 6; Weston Guetterman 1-5
2-2 4; Madden Rutherford 2-4 0-1 4. Totals: 17-48 7-12 45. 3-point field goals:
4, (Vogel 2, Gage, DeShazer)