Louisburg boys drop league road game at Tonganoxie
Louisburg senior Ethan Kush splits the Tonganoxie defense Tuesday as he goes up for a shot at Tonganoxie High School.
TONGANOXIE — Tuesday’s road contest at Tonganoxie was an important one for the Louisburg boys basketball team.
Not only would a win stop a four-game losing streak, but it would give the Wildcats a leg up on getting into the state playoffs. Both teams had the same amount of wins and are vying for spots in the top 16.
Neither of those came to fruition for Louisburg. Tonganoxie used a big third quarter to separate itself and hand Louisburg a 55-48 loss.
Tonganoxie earned its fourth win of the season, while the Wildcats are 3-13 with four games remaining and a game back of earning a playoff spot.
Of all things, it was the free-throw line that made a big difference in the game as Tonganoxie made 18 of 25 attempts to just 8 of 13 for Louisburg.
“That was a tough one due to the substate standings and the fact that we had plenty of chances to win the game,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “In the end we just fouled too much. They took 25 free throws to our 13. That makes a big difference in a tight game.”
Louisburg got out to a good start as it scored 17 points in the first quarter and held a one-point lead at halftime. It was the third quarter where the Chieftains began to pull away.
Tonganoxie outscored Louisburg 19-10 in that third period as the Wildcat struggled to get much going offensively. The Wildcats shot 30 percent from the floor, compared to 50 percent for Tonganoxie.
The Wildcats were also down starter Luke Schultz, one of the team’s top rebounders and scorers, as he was out with an injury.
Senior Gavin Lohse tried to fill that void for the Wildcats as he made it tough on the Chieftains with a team-high 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Unlike the first matchup between the two teams, the Wildcats were just 4-for-24 from behind-the-arch as they couldn’t get those shots to fall from the outside.
Senior Ethan Kush, who started in place of Schultz, made two 3’s and finished with eight points. Senior Myles Vohs and junior Derek Frederick also each scored eight and each had a team-high four assists.
“Gavin had another strong night for us in the paint and grabbing rebounds,” Doll said. “He was a warrior for sure. Also, it was nice to see Ethan Kush hit a couple big shots from 3 when we needed them.”
Louisburg will try and break that losing skid Friday when it travels to Spring Hill in another Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
LOU 17 9 10 12 — 48
TON 14 11 19 11 — 55
LOUISBURG (3-13): Gavin Lohse 6-11 1-2 13; Derek Frederick 4-9 0-0 8; Myles Vohs 2-10 3-4 8; Ethan Kush 3-10 0-1 8; Billy Vohs 1-4 0-0 3; John Guetterman 0-1 3-4 3; Owen Marsh 1-8 1-2 3; Lance Callahan 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 18-60 8-13 48. 3-point field goals: 4, (Kush 2, B. Vohs, M. Vohs)
Wildcats fall to Paola in overtime, lose to Ottawa on homecoming
Louisburg junior Derek Frederick drives past a Paola defender during the Wildcats’ Feb. 4 game in Paola.
PAOLA — The Louisburg boys basketball team was well on its way to stealing a game from its rival on Feb. 4 at Paola.
The Wildcats had a 3-point lead late in the contest and were hoping to get their second league win of the season. Paola had other ideas, however.
Paola forced overtime and then hit free throws down the stretch to hand Louisburg a 58-56 loss in a game where the Wildcats led for much of the second half.
“It’s a hard loss because we’re obviously struggling in a lot of ways,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “At the same time, I think we took a big step forward in a lot of ways. I thought we shot the ball well and our defense was fairly good. We are not looking for moral victories this late in the season, but it was a hard fought game that we played pretty well all the way through it. We just didn’t get the calls and situations we wanted in the end.”
The Wildcats shot 34 percent from the field, but had three players score in double figures. Louisburg led by two points at halftime and the game remained close throughout. Louisburg’s largest lead of the game was seven midway through the third quarter.
Paola put together a mini run, and even took the lead midway through the fourth, but the Wildcats responded to take it right back.
Louisburg senior Myles Vohs gets to the basket for two of his team-high 18 points on Feb. 4 against Paola.
Louisburg junior Derek Frederick hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 48-all with four minutes left in regulation, then with 2:42 remaining, junior Owen Marsh hit a pull-up jumper to give Louisburg a 50-48 lead.
Senior Myles Vohs knocked in a free throw at the 1:50 mark to make it a 3-point game, however Paola’s Caden Cohee nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game again.
Paola got the ball back with under a minute left and settled for the final shot, but the Wildcat defense held strong as it forced a fade-away 3-pointer from Steven Bassett that missed and forced overtime.
The Panthers jumped out to a four point lead in overtime, but free throws from Vohs and Luke Schultz cut it to two with 19 seconds left. However, Cohee knocked in two free throws to make it a four-point lead again and the Wildcats ran out of time.
Cohee was big for the Panthers all night as he finished with a game-high 22 points and was 10-for-17 from the free-throw line.
“In overtime Paola’s defense tightened up a little bit, but we were battling foul trouble and we didn’t have Gavin (Lohse) and he would have been a difference maker in there for us, but the guys who were out there really battled,” Doll said. “Paola got the right calls and hit the free throws when they needed to.”
Vohs had a big night for the Wildcats as he paced Louisburg with a team-high 18 points, along with a team-high four steals and four assists.
Schultz also finished in double figures with 11 points and had eight rebounds. Frederick had 10 points, while Marsh had seven points and five rebounds.
As a team, the Wildcats shot well from behind-the-arch as they knocked in seven 3-pointers, including five combined from Vohs and Frederick.
“Myles really stepped up and hit some clutch shots for us all night,” Doll said. “Both Myles and Derek hit big shots for us a different times. Derek had been in a slump as of late, so it was good to see those shots go through the hoop and hopefully that will carry over to the rest of the season.”
There was no more difficult task for the Louisburg boys to play than taking on the No. 1 team in the state Friday on homecoming.
For the first half, the Wildcats held their own and tried to slow the game down. Louisburg trailed by just 12 points at halftime, but a big third quarter from Ottawa changed the game.
The Cyclones scored 26 points right after halftime and pulled away to hand Louisburg a 66-34 loss. Ottawa outscored the Wildcats 26-11 in the third quarter to all but seal the win.
Louisburg senior Gavin Lohse scored 15 points to lead the Wildcats against Ottawa.
Louisburg senior Gavin Lohse led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Luke Schultz finished with eight points, but had to leave early in the second half with an injury.
The Wildcats will try and bounce back this Tuesday as they travel to Tonganoxie. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Louisburg freshman Herschel Strumberger battles for a rebound Friday against Bonner Springs.
The Louisburg boys basketball team hosted Bonner Springs on Friday in hopes of getting back in the win column in Frontier League play.
Unfortunately, Bonner Springs got out to a fast start and the Wildcats weren’t able to recover in a 71-41 loss at Louisburg High School.
Louisburg (3-10) did battle back and won the second quarter, but couldn’t get much rhythm going offensively in the second half.
“We did come out ready to go early, but had a really bad last few minutes of the first quarter that was hard to come back from,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “Their pressure caused us to speed up and we had too many turnovers in that stretch. They are good team that really can get out and pressure the ball which hurt us all night.”
The Wildcats found themselves down 22-8 at the end of the first quarter, but responded in the second quarter as they tried to whittle away at the Brave lead.
Sophomore Lance Callahan and senior Billy Vohs combined for three 3-pointers in the quarter and the Wildcats trailed just 37-25 at halftime.
The second half was a struggle offensively for Louisburg as it scored just 16 points in the final two quarters.
Senior Luke Schultz led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Myles Vohs also finished in double figures with 10 points, while Callahan added eight.
Louisburg is back in action tonight as the Wildcats travel to Paola for a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
LOU 8 17 10 6 — 41
BON 22 15 18 16 —71
LOUISBURG (3-10): Luke Schultz 5-10 2-2 12; Myles Vohs 5-14 0-0 10; Lance Callahan 3-6 0-0 8; Gavin Lohse 2-4 0-1 4; Billy Vohs 1-1 0-0 3; Herschel Strumberger 1-1 0-0 2; Owen Marsh 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 18-49 2-3 41. 3-point field goals: 3, (Callahan 2, B. Vohs)
Wildcats suffer road loss at Eudora
Louisburg and Eudora were deadlocked in the first half and the Wildcats were right where they wanted to be.
The second half, however, didn’t go the Wildcats’ way. Eudora held Louisburg to 19 second half points and pulled away for a 65-47 win over the Wildcats on Jan. 28 in Eudora.
“The boys fought hard, but we just lost track of our game plan on them a little bit,” Doll said. “We left some of their really good guys open in the second half and we didn’t do a good job of helping. They also took advantage of the free-throw line.
“There was a time where we were battling back in the third quarter and we got to the line, but we just didn’t make our free throws. We were down eight at the end of the third, and if we hit our free throws it is probably a little tighter game.”
Louisburg’s Parker Stanfield goes up for a basket last week against Eudora.
Senior Luke Schultz led the Wildcats in scoring with 11 points and nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds. Myles Vohs and Billy Vohs each had nine points, while Billy finished with three 3-pointers.
Junior Owen Marsh led the team with five assists and three steals.
Schultz scores 30 as Wildcats snap losing skid in win over Wyandotte
Louisburg senior Luke Schultz scored a game-high 30 points as the Wildcats downed Wyandotte in the seventh place game of the Viking Classic on Saturday at Shawnee Mission West.
SHAWNEE MISSION — Going into the seventh-place game of the Viking Classic on Saturday, the Louisburg boys basketball team was in desperate need of a win.
Injuries and a tough schedule have hampered the Wildcats, but Saturday provided some relief. Louisburg snapped a seven-game losing skid as the Wildcats downed Wyandotte, 67-38, and ended with win in what was a talented tournament field at Shawnee Mission West.
“We knew it was going to be a tough tournament for us and it was,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “We knew we were going to be the smallest school in the tournament, but I am hoping the competition makes us better with our 4A schedule down the road.”
Senior Luke Schultz provided the Wildcats with a much-needed boost at the right time. Schultz finished with a double-double, which included a game-high 30 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats, who had a 27-19 lead at halftime, exploded for 24 points in the third quarter, with a lot of those coming from Schultz.
“We played much better against Wyandotte on Saturday,” Doll said. “First, our pressure caused them to cough it up in the open floor for some easy layups and we ran more zone than usual, which was effective since they are not a good shooting team.
“Luke stepped up a lot in that game as well. He was more aggressive getting to the basket and hit three 3s to go with that. Luke has been a steady guy for us all year and it was nice to see him have a breakout game.”
Louisburg’s defense came up big as the Wildcats forced 28 Wyandotte turnovers and turned those into 30 points. The Wildcats also had 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second chance points.
Senior Myles Vohs also finished in double figures for the Wildcats as he had 10 points to go along with a team-high five assists. Sophomore Lance Callahan had seven points and a team-high three steals, tied with Schultz and junior Owen Marsh.
The Wildcats will try and build on this momentum as they travel to Eudora on Tuesday as they get back into league play. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Wildcats open tournament with losses to Ozark, Shawnee Mission West
Louisburg opened the Viking Classic with its first of three games in three days Thursday when the No. 6 seed Wildcats squared off with No. 3 Ozark (Mo.)
The bigger Ozark program got out to a big lead early and never looked back as it handed Louisburg a 63-32 loss.
“Ozark had a ton of size, which gave us issues with their 1-3-1 zone and our guards seeing over all that size,” Doll said. “They are a solid team that played very hard against us.”
Derek Frederick led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 points, while Herschel Strumberger had a team-high five rebounds and Myles Vohs led Louisburg with three assists. Owen Marsh also had a team-high three steals.
The Wildcats had much of the same trouble in the consolation semifinals on Friday against Shawnee Mission West. The Vikings held Louisburg to 11 first half points and handed the Wildcats a 56-29 setback.
Louisburg junior Derek Frederick pulls up for a runner Thursday against Ozark in the first round of the Viking Classic.
“The Shawnee Mission West game was a rough one for us as well,” Doll said. “Their pressure and scrappy play caused us to turn it over too much and we don’t usually score enough to overcome losing the turnover battle so badly.”
Marsh led Louisburg in scoring with seven points and Strumberger added six in the loss. Luke Schultz had five points and a team-high seven rebounds.
LOU 7 7 12 6 — 32
OZA 21 18 13 11 — 63
LOUISBURG: Derek Frederick 3-11 1-2 10; Owen Marsh 4-11 0–0 8; Myles Vohs 2-11 2-3 6; Billy Vohs 1-4 0-0 3; Luke Schultz 1-7 0-0 2; Lance Callahan 1-3 0-0 2; Herschel Strumberger 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 12-51 4-7 32. 3-point field goals: 4, (Frederick 3, B. Vohs)
LOU 7 4 10 8 — 29
SMW 17 12 10 17 — 56
LOUISBURG: Owen Marsh 3-11 1-2 7; Herschel Strumberger 2-2 2-3 6; Billy Vohs 1-4 3-4 5; Myles Vohs 2-10 0-0 5; Luke Schultz 1-7 2-4 5; Derek Frederick 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 11-46 9-15 29. 3-point field goals: 2, (M. Vohs, Schultz)
Wildcats can’t overcome big second half from Harrisonville
In what was the first of four games in six days for Louisburg, the Wildcats traveled to Harrisonvile on Jan. 20 in hopes sneaking out with a road win.
The Wildcats had the lead after one quarter of play, but Harrisonville held Louisburg to just 25 points in the final three quarters and downed the Wildcats, 60-38.
Louisburg was without a pair of post players in Gavin Lohse — the team’s leading scorer and rebounder — along with Herschel Strumberger.
Louisburg junior Owen Marsh pulls up for a shot in the lane on Jan. 20 at Harrisonville.
Senior Luke Schultz did his best to keep the team in it with a double-double. Schultz pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds to go along with 10 points. Senior Myles Vohs also scored in double figures with 10 and sophomore Lance Callahan added eight.
Harrisonville shot 46 percent for the game, with much of that damage coming in the second half. Louisburg shot just 19 percent and struggled to get going offensively.
“We started out well, but we shot so bad that when they got hot in the third quarter, we couldn’t keep up,” Doll said. “Luke was a warrior though with his 18 rebounds. He didn’t have much help with Gavin and Herschel both out.”
Wildcat boys, girls fall at home to Spring Hill in first game of 2025
Louisburg senior Luke Schultz recorded a double-double Monday in the Wildcats’ loss to Spring Hill.
The Louisburg boys basketball team faced an uphill battle before Monday’s game with Spring Hill even started.
The Wildcats were without their leading scorer and rebounder in senior Gavin Lohse, who was out with an injury, and had their return from break pushed back a week due to winter weather.
It wasn’t exactly the start to 2025 that Louisburg was hoping for and Spring Hill continued that tough trend for the Wildcats.
The Broncos shot better than 50 percent from the field, and put the Wildcats in a hole they couldn’t dig out of as they handed Louisburg a 70-37 loss.
“Spring Hill shot so well against us in the first half,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “I thought we played hard and didn’t do bad defensively in the first half, but they hit big shot after big shot.
“Then in the second half we just ran out of gas and couldn’t guard very well. They started getting to where they wanted to go easily and we can’t do that and expect to win or be in games. Not having Gavin right now really hurts but we still have to be way better defensively to give us a chance.”
Spring Hill shot 56 percent from the floor as it jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter. Louisburg struggled to get things going in the second half as it scored 12 points in the two quarters.
Senior Luke Schultz led the way with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Owen Marsh finished with a team-high 12 points. Another senior, Ethan Kush, also had six rebounds on the night.
Jackson Bruce had a big night for the Broncos as he scored a game-high 22 points on a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor. His teammate, Jordan Miller, had a game-high 10 assists and five steals.
The schedule doesn’t ease up for the Wildcats as they travel to No. 1 Baldwin on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
Rough start for Louisburg girls ends in loss to Spring Hill
It wasn’t the start to 2025 that the Louisburg girls envisioned for themselves Monday in a home game against Spring Hill.
The Wildcats couldn’t overcome a big Spring Hill run in the first quarter that ended in a 64-33 loss to the Broncos.
Spring Hill opened the game on a 21-3 run and the Wildcats were unable to recover as it is their sixth-straight loss to start the season. Louisburg was outscored by just four points in the next two quarters, which led to some positives.
“Spring Hill is a great basketball team,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They have a lot of great players who can handle the ball and take the ball to the basket. After our slow start the girls played with them the rest of the game.
“I thought the girls did a great job playing 1-3-1 defense, and in the second half they did a great job running offense. We ran a lot of offensive sets and the girls did a great job executing.”
Louisburg junior McKenna Lohse pulls down a rebound Monday against Spring Hill.
Senior Ashlyn Kuhlman led Louisburg in a few different categories. She scored a team-high 13 points, including 11 in the third quarter, to go along with a team-best five rebounds and three blocks.
Another senior, Sabra Brueggen, finished with eight points, including going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Senior Ally Brown was next with five points.
Brueggen, junior McKenna Lohse and senior Addy Stohs each had four rebounds, while junior Morgan Latham had a team-high three assists.
Spring Hill’s Isla Herman led all scorers with 18 points and also had 11 rebounds, while Sydney Buscher had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos.
Louisburg will hit the road Friday as the Wildcats travel to No. 8 Baldwin.
Louisburg boys fall to Bonner Springs, Baldwin to end 2024
Louisburg senior Ethan Kush drives to the basket on Dec. 19 against Bonner Springs.
BONNER SPRINGS — The Louisburg boys basketball team had a challenging week to end 2024.
The Wildcats fell to the state’s No. 1 team, Baldwin, on Dec. 17 and then had to square off with a Class 5A team in Bonner Springs last Thursday.
Although it put together a second half run, Louisburg couldn’t get past Bonner Springs in a 65-51 loss to run its record to 2-3 on the season.
Louisburg got out to a rough start, as it not only trailed by 18 at halftime, but the Wildcats also had to deal with foul trouble with their two leading scorers in Gavin Lohse and Luke Schultz.
The Wildcats were able to get back in a rhythm offensively in the third quarter as the they outscored Bonner Springs 19-10 and eventually cut the Braves’ lead to seven early in the fourth.
Lohse led the Wildcats with a double-double as he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, with many of those baskets coming in the second half.
“It was another tough one to start as we struggled to contain the dribble and that got us down 18 at half,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “Gavin played great and we did a good job of getting him going in the third quarter to cut it to 7. Problem with that is, once you get down by so much and make a comeback, you end up running out of steam, which we did. They are a really solid team with good pieces at each spot.”
Schultz also had a big night for the Wildcats as he also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a team-high 19 minutes.
Lohse and Schultz combined to score 38 of the Wildcats’ 51 points. Senior Myles Vohs tallied a team-high five assists on the night.
The Wildcats will try and bounce back on Jan. 7 when they travel to Harrisonville (Mo.) in their first game back from break.
Playing then No. 1 team in the state is never going to be easy, but Louisburg did its best to stay with the top-ranked team in Class 4A on Dec. 17 at home.
After a close first quarter, Baldwin pulled away from Louisburg and handed the Wildcats a 55-36 loss. One of the state’s best players, Cooper Carr, made it tough on the Wildcats as he scored a game-high 23 points.
“We had it to 11 in the third quarter and we missed some easy ones around the basket that would have cut it to nine,” Doll said. “So, I really don’t think the score is indicative of our performance. I think we did better than what the final score said and we did a good job defending Cooper a lot of the time. I mean, he just went to the free throw line, so that’s something that’s really hard to stop, and that was about all he was scoring for a while.
“I thought our effort and everything in our game plan was solid for a little while, until we just had too many turnovers. Then the other thing that hurt was early in the game when they had some guys hit threes that usually don’t hit those shots. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Louisburg junior Owen Marsh pulls up for a jumper on Dec. 17 against Baldwin.
The Wildcats trailed just 10-6 after the first quarter, but Baldwin pulled away in the second and eventually built a 22-point lead late in the third quarter.
Senior Gavin Lohse just missed a double-double for Louisburg as he scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Juniors Owen Marsh and Derek Frederick each scored seven points, while senior Luke Schultz pulled down six rebounds.
Louisburg boys use late fourth quarter run to down Wamego
Louisburg’s Aiden Kennedy, Billy Vohs, Herschel Strumberger and Gavin Lohse celebrate a big basket Friday against Wamego.
It was the kind of grind it out game Louisburg head coach Ben Doll knew he was going to need from his team Friday against Wamego.
Already down starting center Gavin Lohse, the Wildcats were short-handed and found themselves even a little more banged up as starting forward Luke Schultz suffered an ankle injury during the game.
Throw in the fact the Wildcats struggled from the floor, they needed a big effort from its defense. Louisburg got it as it forced 18 turnovers and held Wamego to 32 percent shooting in its 40-32 victory.
“It was a huge win because our schedule is so, so tough right now,” Doll said. “Then being down Gavin and having Luke tweak his ankle and him being limited, but he’s a warrior. We had some other foul trouble and things like that, so there’s nothing easy right now. We thought that was a game that was definitely winnable for us, but you know, we didn’t expect to have all the injuries and other things happen throughout the course of the game.”
Louisburg ended the game strong as it went on a 13-4 run in the final four minutes to pull away from Wamego.
It all started as the Wildcats were down 28-27. With 4 minutes left, junior Derek Frederick hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead.
Junior Derek Frederick goes up and under for a basket and was fouled Friday against Wamego.
After Wamego tied the game, Frederick recorded a steal and scored on a breakaway to put the Wildcats up 32-30. Then the Wildcats got production from their bench as freshman Herschel Strumberger was fouled and converted a 3-point play.
Strumberger played crucial minutes throughout the contest with Lohse out with an injury and Schultz limited at times.
“A lot of stuff happened there really late and real quick and there were just some huge plays,” Doll said. “Derek being a new starter and Herschel again getting in there and both made big plays. Being a freshman, I think Herschel kind of not knowing to be scared or anything else, so he just does what’s natural.
“Wamego is a good team. They’re a scrappy team. Then, you know, we were thinking it’s gonna be a kind of a low scoring battle going in and that’s just kind of the way everything went. Both teams just hunkered down defensively. Then their last game went into overtime and they lost in a 33-31 game, so we expected it was gonna be a grind it out type game. But you’d rather learn lessons, and all those kind of things, and get toughness in wins than in losses, so that that’s why this one feels really good.”
Schultz pushed the Wildcat lead to five on a runner in the lane, and then senior Myles Vohs recorded a steal and scored to ice the game with 20 seconds left.
Vohs provided a spark on both ends of the floor. He led Louisburg in scoring with 13 points and had a team-high five rebounds and three assists.
Schultz also scored in double figures with 10 points and had four rebounds. Strumberger finished with five points and four rebounds as the Wildcat freshman gave Louisburg some key minutes down the stretch.
“Herschel stepped up and he got to play some minutes, some big minutes and we needed a big body in there,” Doll said. “But the problem is he doesn’t know everything we’re trying to do in sets and stuff like that. So we were kind of like with an abbreviated playbook, just trying to get through that, but he did a great job. I mean, as a freshman coming in and getting rebounds, it’s kind of like he doesn’t know to be scared or anything else, which is cool. So he did a really good job, cause they had a good big kid that we needed somebody to match up on with Gavin out.”
Frederick finished with five points, while junior Owen Marsh had four points to go along with a team-high three steals.
Louisburg’s schedule gets tougher Tuesday as it hosts No. 2 ranked Baldwin in a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Louisburg can’t keep up with No. 3 Ottawa in road loss
Louisburg junior Derek Frederick drives to the basket Friday at Ottawa.
OTTAWA — Not much seemed to go right for Louisburg in its first road contest of the season Tuesday at Ottawa.
The Wildcats went up against the No. 3-ranked Cyclones and had a hard time getting going against one of the state’s better teams. Ottawa scored 41 first half points and never looked back as it handed Louisburg a 71-34 loss.
As if the loss wasn’t tough enough, the Wildcats had to play without one of their leading scorers, Gavin Lohse, for more than half the game. Lohse had to leave with an injury in the second quarter.
“Ottawa is a great team that played a close to perfect game against us,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “They shot really well, played tough defense and did better than us on the boards. Once we got down big, our shot selection got worse as we tried to shoot ourselves back into the game and that never works. Gavin getting hurt didn’t help either.”
The Cyclones shot 52 percent from the floor as they took a 22-12 lead on Louisburg after one quarter. Ottawa distanced itself in the second with a 19-4 run and took a 41-16 lead at halftime.
Louisburg shot 26 percent from the field and turnovers didn’t help the Wildcat cause either as they had 18 turnovers that led to 26 points.
Senior Luke Schultz led the Wildcats in scoring with seven points and pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Senior Myles Vohs finished with six points, while Derek Frederick has five points and a team-high three assists. Freshman John Guetterman also added five points in the loss.
Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track tonight as the Wildcats host Wamego. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
LOU 12 4 8 10 — 34
OTT 22 19 24 6 — 71
LOUISBURG (1-1): Luke Schultz 1-4 5-6 7; Myles Vohs 2-7 0-2 6; John Guetterman 2-2 1-1 5; Derek Frederick 1-6 2-2 5; Herschel Strumberger 1-2 0-00 3; Billy Vohs 1-2 0-0 3; Gavin Lohse 1-2 0-0 2; Lance Callahan 1-2 0-0 2; Aiden Kennedy 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 10-35 9-15 34. 3-point field goals: 5, (M. Vohs 2, B. Vohs, Strumberger)
Week 1 Athlete of the Week: Gavin Lohse
Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week one of the winter sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.
GAVIN LOHSE, SENIOR, BASKETBALL
Louisburg senior Gavin Lohse and the Wildcats got out to a good start to the 2024-25 basketball season last Friday at home against Tonganoxie. Lohse was one of three Wildcats to score in double figures in their 77-50 win over the Chieftains as he led the way with 20 points as he played limited minutes to due early foul trouble.
Lohse also made a difference on the defensive end of the floor as well. The Wildcat forward pulled down eight rebounds and had a team-high five steals and six deflections.
The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the winter season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.
Three seniors lead Wildcats in season opening win over Tonganoxie
Louisburg senior Gavin Lohse drives to the basket for two of his team-high 20 points Friday at home against Tonganoxie.
It wasn’t exactly the offensive output Louisburg head coach Ben Doll was expecting from his team Friday during the Wildcats’ season opener against Tonganoxie.
Before the game even started, the Wildcats found out they would be down one of their starters with an illness, and Doll wasn’t sure how his young team would respond.
Leave it to three seniors to lead the way. Gavin Lohse, Myles Vohs and Luke Schultz all scored 16 or more points in the 77-50 rout of the Chieftains. Not only was it a strong start to the season, but it was more points than the Wildcats scored at any point last year.
The Wildcats also got big shots and minutes from senior Ethan Kush, along with junior Owen Marsh and senior Billy Vohs.
“It is an incredible way to start the season,” Doll said. “Winning is hard at this level and in this league. We start the night with Derek Frederick, who was gonna start and play a lot for us, going home sick, so then we’re down one guy there. So we had to have some other guys step up and they did. Owen Marsh stepped up really well, along with Billy Vohs, so we had some guys come off the bench that we didn’t think we were gonna play that much. Owen played almost the whole game.
“Then the the big three of Myles, Luke and Gavin just paced us and we also faced foul trouble with them, so I’m just feeling really fortunate that we were able to win the game with their foul trouble and with the sickness of a starter and everything else. We discovered a lot about this group today.”
Louisburg senior Luke Schultz recorded a double-double Friday in the Wildcats’ win over Tonganoxie.
Lohse, who had to sit most of the second quarter with foul trouble, was a force on the inside for Louisburg. He nearly finished with a double-double as he scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds, to go along with a team-high five steals.
Myles Vohs flirted with a triple-double as the Wildcat point guard played all 32 minutes and finished with 17 points, a team-high nine assists and eight rebounds.
As for Schultz, the Wildcat forward finished with a double-double as he had 16 points and 11 rebounds as he was a constant fixture on the inside.
Louisburg also controlled the boards as it out rebounded Tonganoxie by 17, and had 12 offensive rebounds.
“Gavin scored 20 points and he missed basically the whole second quarter with foul trouble, so that’s pretty impressive,” Doll said. “We’ve been working with those guys in practice about just, you know, putting the pad on them and finishing around the basket, and him and Luke both did a pretty good job and they they absolutely controlled the boards.
“Myles did a good job running the team and really did a little bit of everything for us. I’m just really, really happy because there were a lot of things that could have gone differently for us if we let negative stuff get to us. And then we shot the ball from the outside pretty well, too. I mean that obviously helps.”
The Wildcats hit several shots from the outside as it knocked down seven 3-pointers, including three from Kush. Billy Vohs had two and sophomore Lance Callahan hit one in the first half for his first varsity basket.
Louisburg also got strong play from Marsh, who filled in for Frederick, and played all but two minutes of the game and scored six points, had three assists and three steals.
The Wildcats took a 41-25 lead at halftime, and Tonganoxie was able to chip away at the lead a little in the third quarter as it switched to a zone defense. Louisburg eventually figured it out and built a 29-point lead in the second half.
“In the first half, guys like Lance came off the bench and Ethan hit some big shots, so we were able to build a lead,” Doll said. “That forced them to have to do some different things. And in the past, you know, teams would throw some zone at us and stuff like that, and we might not know what to do, but we did a better better job at taking care of the basketball against the zone and just understanding time score and situation. Then we hit a couple of shots and got them out of it.”
Louisburg will see its schedule start to toughen up and that starts Tuesday when it travels to Ottawa, which is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 4A.
“It’s good to get this one and it’s a huge confidence builder,” Doll said. “So hopefully the guys will enjoy this one for a little bit. The schedule gets a lot tougher for sure, and hopefully this builds some confidence that we can work with in practice and get ready for Tuesday.
