Louisburg senior Jake Hill tries to back down a Paola defender during the Wildcats’ game Tuesday at Paola High School. Paola rallied for a 55-49 win over Louisburg.

PAOLA – The Louisburg High School boys basketball team was just minutes away from pulling off an upset of its league rival, and a possible future substate opponent, on the road.

A victory would have given the Wildcats an even bigger boost of confidence as they had already won three of their last four games going into Tuesday’s game at Paola High School. Unfortunately for Louisburg, the Wildcats will have to wait a little longer to try and knock off Paola.

The Panthers overcame a six-point deficit with four minutes left in the game to pull out a 55-49 win over Louisburg.

“The loss itself was disappointing, but the dedication to improvement our boys displayed that night and practice the next day was impressive,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We’ve spoken of the necessity to maintain our game plan implementation for 32 minutes and we saw, first hand, what happens when we don’t execute. We went through a two-minute period where we didn’t execute at the defensive end and it cost us dearly.”

Louisburg (6-8) put together a 45-39 lead midway through the fourth quarter after 3-pointers from Jayce Geiman, Dalton Stone and a basket from Desmond Doles. Paola then called a timeout and the Panthers picked up their intensity.

Paola’s Dalton Rankin hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead in half, and then got a pair of baskets from Tanner Moala and Andrew Phillips to give them a 1-point lead with under three minutes left.

Wildcat senior Sam Guetterman hit a pair of free throws to put Louisburg up one again, but only for a short time.

Noah Bell responded with a 3-pointer to put Paola back on top by two points, then Louisburg senior T.J. Dover drove the lane for two points to tie it up with 1 minute and 16 seconds left.

Paola took the lead on pair of free throws by Brandon Wilkes, and then the Panthers got a Wildcat turnover, which turned into two points for Phillips and all but sealed the win for the home team.

The Wildcats were playing short-handed as they missed one of their post players in junior Dalton Ribordy, who was out with an illness. Nelson believes the team did what it could to pick up the slack, especially having to go up against a pair of 6-foot, 5-inch players in Moala and Matthew Wilson.

“Given our dramatic personnel rotation, we played really well,” Nelson said. “With Dalton out of the lineup, we’re significantly smaller, and knew we’d have to play some smalls on their bigs. Those who were tasked with playing against their bigs did a really good job.”

Senior Grant Harding led the Wildcats with a double-double as he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds. Geiman also had a team-high 12 points, including four 3-pointers, while Dover finished with 10 points. Guetterman had eight points and six rebounds in the loss.

Bell led the Panthers with 13 points and Moala finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Louisburg will try to get back on the winning track, but the Wildcats face a tough test tonight on the road at No. 4 Eudora. The Wildcats played the Cardinals close for a half earlier this season and they hope to turn that into more this time around.

“We know that if and when we put 32 minutes of our style of basketball together we can play with most anybody and we’ve gotten progressively better,” Nelson said.

LOU             8             12           15           14 – 49

PAO             8             12           14           21 – 55

LOUISBURG (6-8): Jayce Geiman 12, Grant Harding 10, T.J. Dover 10, Sam Guetterman 8, Dalton Stone 6, Desmond Doles 2, Jake Hill 1. Totals: 19-46 7-11 49. 3-point field goals: 6, (Geiman 4, Stone 2)

Lady Cats fall to No. 8 Paola

PAOLA – At times, there wasn’t much the Louisburg girls basketball team could do Tuesday against Paola.

The Lady Cats played the type of defense they were looking for, but Paola always had an answer. The Panthers shot a high-percentage from the field as they took down Louisburg, 67-43.

“They are athletic,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said of Paola. “I am not sure what their shooting percentage was, but it was good. It is not that we were playing off anywhere, they were just hitting some nice shots and hats off to them for that. It was a nice offensive performance.”

Louisburg senior Tayler Lancaster tries to dribble into the lane Tuesday in Paola.

Paola senior Matti Morgan lifted her team with a game-high 27 points as she was perfect from the field.

Morgan and the rest of the Panthers were tough to stop as they scored 41 first half points and the Lady Cats weren’t able to keep up. The two teams provided a back-and-forth first quarter as Paola took a 24-17 lead going into the second.

“We did ok,” Lowry said. “We have some things that we have to make some adjustments on and some fundamental things that we have been doing and we didn’t do this time. We had some breakdowns that happened that the players know about and we will get it fixed. I wasn’t disappointed at all with our toughness or effort. The kids give a lot.”

Louisburg (6-7) got a bulk of its scoring from a pair of seniors. Madisen Simpson led the Lady Cats with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while Paige Buffington finished with 12.

Sophomore Carson Buffington finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Lady Cats will try and snap mini two-game losing skid tonight when they travel to Eudora.

“That is what great about this time of year is you are in the meat of your schedule with Tuesday and Friday games,” Lowry said. “Now we just have to get ready for the game (today) and turn around play two more times next week. We just need to get some of our stuff fixed.”

LOU             17           8             10           8 – 43

PAO             24           17           17           9 – 67

LOUISBURG (6-7): Madisen Simpson 22, Paige Buffington 12, Chloe Renner 4, Kennia Hankinson 3, Carson Buffington 2. Totals: 14 9-16 43. 3-point field goals: 6, (Simpson 4, P. Buffington 2)

Louisburg senior Jayce Geiman tries to dribble past a Spring Hill defender Friday during the Wildcats’ homecoming game at Louisburg High School. Spring Hill used a big second half to beat Louisburg, 61-48.

In the first half, everything seemed right in the world of the Louisburg boys basketball team.

Shots were going in, the Wildcat defense forced some difficult shots and they were doing a good job on the glass. The second half proved to be more unlucky for the Wildcats.

The same shots that went in, didn’t go in the final two quarters and Spring Hill caught fire at the right time. That half turned into a 61-48 win for Spring Hill at Louisburg High School and the Wildcats saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

“I think we just got a little cold,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Defensively, we did what we needed to do. Offensively we got the looks we wanted, but they just weren’t falling. You are going to have a night or two like this during the season and that’s all it was — a night. We just weren’t quite as in sync as we usually are.”

Louisburg (6-7) had its way on the inside, especially in the first half. Junior Dalton Ribordy dominated the paint as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the first two quarters. Ribordy also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds to record a double-double.

Spring Hill made it more difficult to get the ball inside in the second half and the Wildcats struggled to score from all over the floor.

“Dalton did a great job in there and he was difficult to stop in there at times,” Nelson said. “Even in the second half, he was still getting looks but they just didn’t go down. It is the way it went for everyone I think.”

The lead changed hands a few times in the first quarter, but Louisburg went on 8-2 run that ended on a steal and a dunk from Grant Harding to give Louisburg a 14-9 lead.

Louisburg senior Grant Harding rises up for a dunk Friday during the Wildcats’ game with Spring Hill.

Louisburg continued its run into the second quarter as it took a 20-13 advantage on a pair of baskets from Ribordy and another from senior T.J. Dover.

Spring Hill got right back in it as the Broncos put together a 10-2 spurt that gave them a quick 23-22 lead. Dover and Ribordy answered with back-to-back baskets to give Louisburg a three-point lead going into halftime.

The game remained close through much of the third quarter. Harding scored five consecutive points for Louisburg to give the Wildcats a 31-29 lead, and after Spring Hill took the lead back, Sam Guetterman answered with a 3-pointer to put Louisburg in front.

The Broncos, however, used another 10-2 run to end the third quarter to put them up 42-36 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. Spring Hill ballooned its lead to 13 midway through the fourth quarter, and despite two 3-pointers from Jayce Geiman, the Wildcats could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

“We knew it was going to be a grind,” Nelson said. “At that time, we were hitting the shots we needed to hit and we were confident. I think we tightened up a little bit in the second half when they hit those threes, but they have great shooters. Then we started hitting threes to get it closer, but we just couldn’t get closer. We were 13 for 20 in first half, but we just couldn’t keep in going in the second half.”

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track tonight when it travels to Paola for another Frontier League contest. The two teams are scheduled to tip at approximately 7:30 p.m.

“Paola is Paola,” Nelson said. “I think the guys are going to be excited for the challenge. I think more than who we are playing, they are going to be excited to hopefully get this taste out of our mouth. This one loss doesn’t take away from the strides we have been making and hopefully we can keep getting better.”

LOU               14           12           10           12 – 48

SH                  10           13           19           19 – 61

LOUISBURG (6-7): Grant Harding 15, Dalton Ribordy 14, Sam Guetterman 7, Jayce Geiman 6, T.J. Dover 6. Totals: 22-51 1-6 48. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Guetterman)

Louisburg junior Dalton Ribordy draws some contact and scores a basket during Tuesday’s home contest against De Soto at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats captured their third-straight win with a 56-40 victory over De Soto.

On two different occasions, the Louisburg High School boys basketball team had a chance to let De Soto stay in the game or even take the lead.

Louisburg wasn’t about to let that happen.

The Wildcats used a big second and fourth quarters on both ends of the floor to pull away from De Soto for a 56-40 win Tuesday in Louisburg. In the process, the Wildcats recorded their third consecutive victory after they won the final two games of the Baldwin Invitational last week.

“The first half we just gave up too many offensive rebounds and putbacks and that kept it close,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Our on-ball defense a few times wasn’t the best. It was a testament to those guys that they were able to fix those things. They are doing a good job of looking for each other on the court. Now we have to put together four quarters.”

De Soto trailed Louisburg 14-13 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats turned the pressure up defensively in the second quarter and went on a 13-4 run to go up 27-17 at halftime.

Again, De Soto made another run in the third quarter as it scored on offensive rebounds and drives to the basket and cut the Louisburg lead in half.

Senior Sam Guetterman drives past a De Soto defender Tuesday in the Wildcats’ 16-point win.

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (6-6) made it a point to the get the ball inside to senior T.J. Dover and junior Dalton Ribordy and it worked. Louisburg ended the game on a 16-5 run that was spurred on by several baskets by the two Wildcat forwards.

“That is exactly what we need to do to be successful,” Nelson said. “We need to get the ball into Ribordy and T.J. and play inside-out. That frees up Jayce (Geiman), Grant (Harding), Sam (Guetterman) and everyone else on the perimeter to get open shots or drive it. We did a good job of that this time and it is something that we need to continue to do.”

Dover was one of three Wildcats players to score in double figures. He tied with Harding for a team-high 15 points and Geiman added 11, along with a pair of 3-pointers. Ribordy added six points, including a couple big baskets during the Wildcats’ fourth quarter run.

“We have been working hard on post entry and T.J. and Dalton are so athletic inside,” Nelson said. “If we can get the ball inside, then we can do some good things. We keep improving in that area and they are being more assertive down low and the guards are doing a better job looking for them.”

After a rough start to the season, the Wildcats’ three-game winning streak has brought their record back to .500 and they earned their second Frontier League win. Louisburg will now try to keep those winning ways going as it hosts Spring Hill at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The game will follow homecoming ceremonies that had to be rescheduled from earlier this month.

“Our biggest attribute right now is our mentality,” Nelson said. “This is the second game in a row where we have played a good, scrappy team. Instead of letting them back into it and getting a lead, we pulled away instead and that is good to see. Hopefully we can keep playing well.”

LOU               14           13           13           16 – 56

DES                13           4             18           5 – 40

LOUISBURG (6-6): Grant Harding 15, T.J. Dover 15, Jayce Geiman 11, Dalton Ribordy 6, Sam Guetterman 4, Jake Hill 2, Desmond Doles 2, Dalton Stone 1. Totals: 21-41 12-18 56. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman 2)

Louisburg senior T.J. Dover goes up for a blocked shot against Bishop Ward during the consolation semifinals of the Baldwin Invitational on Friday at Baldwin High School. The Wildcats defeated Baldwin on Saturday for fifth-place.

BALDWIN CITY — Last year at this time, the Louisburg High School boys basketball team was entering the Baldwin Invitational Tournament on a high note with a 6-3 record and the Wildcats were feeling confident.

After it was over, the Wildcats walked away with three straight losses, which led to a long string of defeats to end the 2016 season. It was a pivotal point in their season.

“I think the boys remember that,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson. “As we entered the tourney last year, we had a decent record, but hadn’t played the same competition as this year going in. I feel like an improved early schedule really helped us mentally and also didn’t provide us with a ‘false sense’ of where we really were as a program.”

That improved schedule and better mentality left Louisburg with a better feeling after leaving Baldwin.

Despite losing the first game of the tournament, the Wildcats bounced back with two straight wins, including a 56-47 victory over Baldwin in the fifth-place game Saturday at Baldwin High School.

Louisburg (5-6) used a big second half to overcome a halftime deficit and possibly played its best two quarters of the season according its coach.

Louisburg senior Jake Hill (right) battles for a rebound Friday at Baldwin High School.

“In my opinion, the second half of the game was some of the best basketball in my time here,” Nelson said. “We were patient with the ball, picked the opportune moments to attack and did so with confidence and authority. Plus, we didn’t settle for low percentage shots which further allowed us to pull away. Lastly, our defense was aggressive the entire game and we didn’t allow many uncontested shots which prevented them from shooting a high percentage from deep.”

The Wildcats have defeated the Bulldogs in two previous meetings this season, but each time Baldwin stayed in the game with its 3-point shooting. This time around, Louisburg held Baldwin to just 4 for 16 from 3-point range.

Senior Grant Harding also provided a bulk of the scoring punch for Louisburg as he finished with a game-high 24 points and gave the Wildcats a lift when they needed him. For his performance in the three games, Harding was also named to the all-tournament team.

Still, the Wildcats got production from up and down their lineup and fellow senior Sam Guetterman nearly had a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds, while junior Dalton Ribordy had a team-high nine rebounds and senior T.J. Dover finished with eight points.

“As a group, we had a great tournament,” Nelson said. “Offensively, we didn’t force anything, moved the ball and didn’t settle for contested, low percentage shots. When Grant was open, he shot, when a lane was available, he drove. Same thing with Jayce, Sammy, T.J., Dalton and others.

“Everybody knows Grant is our biggest offensive threat given his inside and outside ability and it was nice to see him take control when the chance presented itself, but just as important was how the others played to their strengths. If we can keep playing to our individual strengths in a team oriented manner, we can fulfill the potential our staff sees in them.”

After an even first quarter, Baldwin took a 23-21 halftime lead, but the Wildcats came out strong in the second half as they outscored the Bulldogs 18-11 in the third quarter to pull away.

Louisburg has another busy week as it hosts De Soto in a makeup game Tuesday and will then host Spring Hill on Friday for homecoming. Both games will tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

LOU               11           10           18           17 – 56

BAL                11           12           11           13 – 47

LOUISBURG (5-6): Grant Harding 24, Sam Guetterman 11, T.J. Dover 7, Jayce Geiman 5, Dalton Ribordy 4, Desmond Doles 4. Totals: 20-43 13-24 56. 3-point field goals: 3, (Harding 3)

LOUISBURG ROLLS BISHOP WARD

Coming off a rough overtime loss earlier in the week to Wellsville, Louisburg had a chance to redeem itself Friday in the consolation finals against Bishop Ward.

The Wildcats took advantage of that opportunity as it rolled to a 45-24 win to advance to the fifth-place game.

Jayce Geiman and Grant Harding each led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points each, while T.J. Dover finished with eight. Harding also had a team-high seven rebounds in the contest.

LOU               11           11           10           13 – 45

BW                5             7             6             6 – 24

LOUISBURG: Jayce Geiman 12, Grant Harding 12, T.J. Dover 8, Dalton Ribordy 6, Dalton Stone 3, Sam Guetterman 2, Alex Seuferling 2. Totals: 18-41 6-15 45. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Stone)

Louisburg senior Grant Harding drives to the basket Tuesday during the first round of the Baldwin Invitational Tournament at Baldwin High School. Harding scored a team-high 16 points in the 57-50 overtime loss.

BALDWIN CITY – All signs were pointing to a Louisburg victory in its first round contest Tuesday in the Baldwin Invitational.

The foreshadowing appeared in the form of a shot from Jayce Geiman. The Louisburg senior hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game with Wellsville into overtime and all the momentum swung over to the Wildcat bench.

That momentum quickly raced back to the other side of the floor.

Wellsville opened the extra period with a basket and the Wildcats were on the wrong end of two charging calls that took away possessions and they couldn’t recover in a 57-50 loss.

“The guys couldn’t have been more disappointed,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Did they know that they didn’t play their best game? Absolutely. Our on-ball defense was subpar, our help defense was abnormally weak and we missed a lot of bunnies. They battled as best they could through it and for that, I’m proud. But that is a game we should have won.”

Louisburg (3-6) had to battle back from a fourth quarter deficit to send the game to an extra period. The Wildcats were down five points with under five minutes remaining, but senior Sam Guetterman hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the Eagle lead to one.

Fellow senior T.J. Dover responded to give the Wildcats a one-point lead with three minutes left in regulation and senior Grant Harding followed that up with a steal and a breakaway dunk to put Louisburg up three.

Wellsville answered back with a quick 6-0 run to take a 48-45 lead with 12 seconds left. The Wildcats got the ball back with one last chance and Geiman answered with a 3-pointer from several feet behind the 3-point line at the buzzer to tie it.

Senior Jayce Geiman connects on a 3-pointer at the buzzer Tuesday to send the Wildcats’ game with Wellsville to overtime.

“Coach (Drew) Harding drew up a double screen for Grant curling off of it with Jayce as a secondary option,” Nelson said. “Wellsville’s defensive rotation was fantastic, and credit to Jayce for sliding until he found an opening. I felt like that was great momentum going in to overtime, and was confident, but we picked up a few early fouls in overtime and it switched the momentum.”

That it did.

Wellsville scored a quick basket to take the lead in overtime, and as the Wildcats tried to answer on their next possession, were called for a charge — one of six for the game — and two in the overtime.

The charges gave the Eagles extra possessions and they took advantage either at the free throw line or at the basket.

“I’ve never seen a game where charges were so numerous,” Nelson said. “To their credit, the boys were never discouraged by the calls, and never voiced displeasure and I’m proud of them for that. I don’t necessarily think it took away from our aggression, but it did alter our play to where we were trying to avoid contact at all and consequently some of our shots were altered a bit.”

Both teams traded leads in the first half and the Wildcats had to rally from five points down in the second quarter and eventually took a one-point lead at halftime. Down 20-15 with three minutes left in the first half, junior Dalton Ribordy scored a basket and Geiman followed it up with five straight points, including a 3-pointer to tie the game with a minute remaining.

Junior Dalton Ribordy (right) gets on the floor for a loose ball Tuesday against Wellsville.

Guetterman added a free throw with one second left and the Wildcats had a 23-22 lead in the locker room at halftime.

Harding was one of two Wildcats in double figures as he led the way with 16 points and Geiman finished with 12. Ribordy and Dover each had five rebounds to lead Louisburg.

The Wildcats return to action Friday when they face off with Bishop Ward in the consolation semifinals. Bishop Ward fell to Bonner Springs in their contest, 63-20. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

Louisburg will either play Baldwin or Anderson County for fifth or seventh place Saturday.

“These next two games are most definitely important, but more important is what did we learn from Tuesday’s game?” Nelson said. “We are focused on improving and peaking for substate, and to that end, these upcoming games are quite important.”

LOU               11           12           11           14           2 – 50

WEL              9             13           13           13           9 – 57

LOUISBURG (3-6): Grant Harding 16, Jayce Geiman 12, Sam Guetterman 8, T.J. Dover 6, Dalton Ribordy 6, Desmond Doles 2. Totals: 18-45 11-18 50. 3-point field goals: 4, (Geiman 2, Harding, Guetterman).

Louisburg senior Jayce Geiman gets the ball across half-court thanks to a screen from teammate Dalton Ribordy on Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home game against Frontenac. The Wildcats fell 71-59.

The Louisburg High School boys basketball team hoped to get its second consecutive win when the Wildcats returned home for the first time in three weeks.

Frontenac had other plans.

The Raiders scored a lot of points in transition and limited the Louisburg offense with their zone defense as they handed the Wildcats a 71-59 loss in what was up-and-down game that featured a lot of free throws.

“We knew we had to do coming in and we didn’t assert ourselves very well,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We didn’t stick to the script the entire time and that hurt us. When we did do that in the second half, we started getting to the line and getting some weak side buckets, stuff that we should have started doing all along.”

The two teams combined for 55 free throws and Frontenac made more free throws (23) than Louisburg (20) attempted. While that was a big difference in the game, Louisburg also struggled from the field against the Raiders’ zone defense as it shot just 32 percent for the contest.

Louisburg and Frontenac went back-and-forth in the first half as the lead changed hands seven times and had seven more ties.

Frontenac pulled away in the third quarter as it outscored Louisburg 20-10 to build a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter. The Raiders’ lead expanded to 15 before the Wildcats cut it to nine on Jayce Geiman’s 3-pointer with less than four minutes left in the game.

The Raiders stopped Louisburg’s mini-run to put the lead back up to 17 with two minutes left and sealed the win. Frontenac got those points in transition off Wildcat misses and from the free-throw line.

Junior Desmond Doles goes up for two points Tuesday against Frontenac.

“All that was a manifestation of our lack of communication,” Nelson said. “I don’t know remember the last time that our rotation was that slow, but when we don’t communicate or assert ourselves then stuff like this happens.

“When our shots were falling, it can carry over to the defensive end and guys hang their heads a little bit. But maybe that is on me for not motivating them enough.”

Geiman led the Wildcat scoring with 17 points, including five 3-pointers against the Frontenac zone. Senior Grant Harding also finished in double figures with 16 points, while junior Desmond Doles came off the bench to add eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Senior T.J. Dover added six rebounds in the loss, while junior Dalton Ribordy and senior Sam Guetterman had five a piece.

Louisburg will try and get a Frontier League win Friday when it hosts De Soto for homecoming. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

“If we come out and set the tempo then good things are going to happen,” Nelson said. “If we are too reactive then we leave ourselves open to bad things happening. These kids know how to do it, we just have to be consistent and play through adversity.”

LOU               11           16           10           22 – 59

FRON            14           15           20           22 – 71

LOUISBURG (3-5): Jayce Geiman 17, Grant Harding 16, Desmond Doles 8, Sam Guetterman 6, T.J Dover 6, Dalton Stone 3, Dalton Ribordy 2. Totals: 20-62 12-20 59. 3-point field goals: 6, (Geiman 5, Stone)

Louisburg senior Sam Guetterman saves the ball from going out of bounds Friday against Baldwin. The Wildcats defeated Baldwin on the road with a 68-58 victory.

BALDWIN CITY – Playing back-to-back games against the top two teams in the Frontier League gave the Louisburg boys basketball team some perspective going into the holiday break.

The Wildcats had a chance to right those wrongs in practice from those two losses against state-ranked Eudora and Ottawa, and learn from their mistakes to prepare them for the grind of the next two months.

The first challenge was against Baldwin on the road Friday and the Wildcats passed it with flying colors. Despite a late charge from the Bulldogs, Louisburg held on for a 68-58 win to snap that two-game losing streak and win its first Frontier League contest.

“They boys were fantastic,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said of his team. “Defensively, we were fantastic. Offensively, we asserted ourselves really, really well. To Baldwin’s credit, they got hot at the end and couldn’t miss, but to our kids’ credit, they responded. Free throws really won the game for us, which is an anomaly for us, but shows progress.”

Louisburg was able to overcome a hot-shooting fourth quarter from the Bulldogs after building a 17-point lead to end the third. Baldwin scored 24 points thanks to five 3-pointers in the fourth, but the Wildcats won the game at the free-throw line and on the boards.

The Wildcats (3-4) converted on just 16 of 31 from the free-throw line, but hit several down the stretch the keep the lead at double digits.

Louisburg also did work on the glass. The Wildcats got three offensive rebounds off missed free throws in the final three minutes thanks to junior Dalton Ribordy and senior Dalton Stone that gave Louisburg more chances at the line.

“It was a nine-point game and you could feel the momentum start to switch, but those offensive rebounds by Ribordy and Stone were huge,” Nelson said. “All that momentum then went back to us. We built a big lead up and we knew Baldwin was streaky and was a scrappy team, but we were able to hold on and the guys never panicked.”

Offensively, the Wildcats were efficient most of the night as they had four players score in double figures, despite having to deal with some early foul trouble. Senior Grant Harding led all scorers with 22 points as he was able get to the free-throw line several times in the fourth quarter.

Dalton Stone goes in for a layup Friday against Baldwin at Baldwin High School.

Senior forward T.J. Dover, who was saddled with two quick fouls to start the game, came alive in the third quarter as he scored 12 of his 16 points in the frame. Senior guard Jayce Geiman helped get the Wildcats off to a good start as he scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half and fellow senior Sam Guetterman also had a good night with 10 points.

“Our ball movement was fantastic,” Nelson said. “I don’t think that we forced much of anything. We had two-and-half weeks over break to kind of beat up on each other, and we focused on moving the ball around and getting the open shot and not just settling. Hopefully this game will give them some confidence moving forward.”

The Wildcats opened the game on a 7-0 run on baskets from Dover, Guetterman and a 3-pointer from Geiman. Baldwin eventually cut the lead to 10-7, but Harding knocked down a basket, was fouled and converted the 3-point play at the free-throw line.

Harding then stole a Baldwin pass two possessions later for a dunk and a 15-7 Louisburg advantage. The Wildcats then hunkered down defensively as they held Baldwin to just four points in the second quarter and eventually took a 29-16 halftime lead.

Louisburg built a 20-point lead late in the third quarter that was challenged by the Bulldogs. Baldwin, which hit 12 3-pointers in the contest, connected on five in the fourth quarter alone.

Baldwin eventually cut the lead to nine points with under three minutes left in the game, but the Wildcats kept the Bulldogs at bay from the free-throw line.

“They wouldn’t die,” Nelson said of Baldwin. “We were denying the ball and they just seemed to make everything. I think that was the best thing about this win is we were able to overcome the storm and stay with the game plan. The boys reaped the rewards of what we have been working on.”

Louisburg returns to action with a pair of home games this week. The Wildcats will host Frontenac on Tuesday and then will play De Soto on Friday for homecoming.

LOU               15           14           22           17 – 68

BAL                12           4             18           24 – 58

LOUISBURG (3-4): Grant Harding 22, T.J. Dover 16, Jayce Geiman 15, Sam Guetterman 10, Dalton Stone 2, Dalton Ribordy 2, Jake Hill 1. Totals: 27 16-31 68. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 3)

Louisburg senior Sam Guetterman battles for a rebound during Monday’s league contest in Ottawa. The Wildcats fell to the Cyclones, 61-36, in their final game before the holiday break.

OTTAWA – For one quarter, the Louisburg High School boys basketball team stayed right with the No. 3 team in the state.

From there, Ottawa showed why it was ranked in the top half of Class 4A-Division I.

Ottawa used a big second quarter and handed Louisburg its second straight loss, 61-36, in its final game before the holiday break. The Cyclones outscored the Wildcats 17-4 before halftime and Louisburg was forced to play catch up for most of the game.

Louisburg and Ottawa found themselves in a back-and-forth first period that saw Ottawa take 15-13 advantage.

“The first quarter we were proactive and we set our tempo and good things happened,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Then after that, a couple little things happened and everything changed. It is on me to get them in better position and have a better reaction to adversity. We burned a timeout and we talked about it, but it didn’t work.

“We saw against two of the best teams in our league that when we are proactive, and not reactive, then we are good. These boys want to be good and now we have two weeks to work on asserting ourselves for 32 minutes.”

The Wildcats (2-4) had a tough time stopping the Cyclone combination of Isaac McCullough and Perry Carroll, who combined for 42 of Ottawa’s 61 points. McCullough led all scorers with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Carroll shot 9 for 11 from the field for 19 points.

“We let them get hot,” Nelson said. “But there were times where McCullough hit so many contested threes and I thought our defense was pretty good on most of them. When they get points like that, you just have to tip your hat to them.”

Louisburg senior Jayce Geiman led the Wildcats in scoring with 13 points, while fellow seniors T.J. Dover and Sam Guetterman scored eight and seven points, respectively. Junior Dalton Ribordy led Louisburg with four rebounds.

The Wildcats hope to stop their losing skid when they return from the holiday break on Jan. 6 when they travel to Baldwin. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               13           4             12           7 – 36

OTT               15           17           21           8 – 61

LOUISBURG (2-4): Jayce Geiman 13, T.J. Dover 8, Sam Guetterman 7, Grant Harding 4, Jake Hill 2, Dalton Ribordy 2. Totals: 15-36 2-4 36. 3-point field goals: 4, (Geiman 3, Guetterman)

Louisburg junior Dalton Ribordy puts up a shot over a couple Eudora defenders Tuesday at Louisburg High School. Ribordy finished with eight points in Louisburg’s 64-49 loss.

For the first 16 minutes, the Louisburg boys basketball team stayed right with state-ranked Eudora and even took a halftime lead.

The next 16 were a different story.

Eudora doubled up Louisburg in the third quarter and the No. 7 Cardinals spoiled the Wildcats’ home opener Tuesday and handed Louisburg a 64-49 loss at Louisburg High School.

The two teams battled back and forth at each other in the first half, but Louisburg took a four-point halftime lead and were able execute offensively. In the second half, Eudora made some adjustments and outscored the Wildcats 38-19 to pull away for the win.

“The first half we came out and were assertive,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We executed the game plan that we have been working on. We cut hard, we got position, we worked inside-out and got the posts involved with what we were trying to do.

“The second half we deviated away from it a little bit, took a timeout and got a little better, but we never got into a flow like we did in the first half. They started sagging on us a little more, but we still need to play an inside-out game.”

Senior Jayce Geiman pulls up for jumper Tuesday against Eudora.

Louisburg had a tough defensive assignment most of the night as the Wildcats had to keep an eye on Eudora’s Mitchell Ballock. The Cardinal senior, and Creighton University commit, led all scorers with 20 points.

Ballock scored eight of those points in the first quarter and then added a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to give Eudora a one point advantage. Louisburg senior Grant Harding had the assignment of guarding him early, but the calls didn’t go his way as he picked up his third foul with four minutes left in the first half.

“I thought Grant did a pretty good job on him early, but with the foul trouble we had to change some things up defensively,” Nelson said. “He is a good player, but I thought we were able to slow him down a little.”

The Wildcats (2-3) got off to a fast start as they took an early 9-3 lead on a 3-pointer from Harding, a pair of baskets from junior Dalton Ribordy and a reverse layup from senior Sam Guetterman.

Eudora went on a 14-6 run to take a 17-15 lead late in the quarter, but senior T.J. Dover tied it at 17-all and junior Ben Minster put the Wildcats on top with 45 seconds left in the period.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a mini 7-0 run on back-to-back baskets from senior Jake Hill and a 3-pointer from senior Jayce Geiman to take a 30-22 lead with two minutes left in the half. Eudora hit a pair of baskets, but the Wildcats still led by four at halftime.

The Cardinals were more aggressive to start the second half and outscored Louisburg 20-8 in the third quarter. Eudora did a lot of its damage from the free-throw line as it converted 9 of 9 opportunities in the frame.

“We were putting them on the line and I think we were a half-a-step slow on defense occasionally,” Nelson said. “At the same time, we just didn’t execute. We knew what we had to do, but we didn’t get it done. I think it is all a part of going through a long season and learning from your mistakes.”

Eudora took a 46-38 lead into the fourth, but the Wildcats weren’t able to get any closer. The Cardinals opened the fourth on a 12-3 run to seal the win.

Harding was one two Wildcats in double figures as he led Louisburg with 12 points and Geiman added 10 in the loss. Ribordy and Guetterman each finished with eight, while Guetterman led Louisburg with seven rebounds on the night.

Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight, but it will be against another state-ranked team. The Wildcats will travel to No. 3 Ottawa to continue Frontier League play in their final game before the holiday break.

“These are the two of the best teams in the state and why not see where we are at,” Nelson said of Ottawa and Eudora. “Ottawa has good players, so we will see what we can do. It will be a tough test for us.”

LOU               19           11           8             11 – 49

EUD               17           9             20           18 – 64

LOUISBURG (2-3): Grant Harding 12, Jayce Geiman 10, Sam Guetterman 8, Dalton Ribordy 8, Ben Minster 5, Jake Hill 4, T.J. Dover 2. Totals: 19-44 8-14 49. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Harding)

Louisburg senior Grant Harding finishes off an alley-oop after a pass from teammate Jayce Geiman on Friday in the final game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Burlington Middle School. 

BURLINGTON – Sam Guetterman was just in the right place at the right time – after time, after time.

In fact, Anderson County couldn’t keep track of the Louisburg senior. Whether it was as simple as a pull-up jumper, an offensive rebound or the beneficiary of a pass from a teammate, Guetterman made the most of every chance.

Guetterman scored a game-high 26 points as he helped Louisburg to its second straight win with a 75-49 victory over Anderson County. Several of those points came thanks to senior teammate Grant Harding who found an open Guetterman while driving to the basket.

“That was really great to see and Sammy played a great game,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “He and Grant worked really well together and defensively he was always solid. Offensively, that is what he is capable of. He found his opportunities and he exploited it every single time. It was fantastic to see.”

Guetterman shot close to 70 percent from the field as he converted on 12 of 17 shots to go along with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

Harding had an efficient night as well as he finished with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting, including a pair of dunks to help to get his team going. One of those dunks came in the first quarter on an alley-oop from fellow senior Jayce Geiman.

Other than the final four minutes of the second quarter, the Wildcats dominated the Bulldogs offensively and shot 52 percent from the field for the game.

Louisburg (2-2) opened the game on a 20-9 run in the first quarter, including eight points from Guetterman. After a dunk and a steal from Harding, the Wildcats led 28-14 with five minutes left in the first half.

Anderson County responded with a 12-3 run to get back into the game as the Wildcats led 31-26 at halftime.

The Wildcats got the lead right back to double digits in less than three minutes as they opened the second half 12-5 on baskets from juniors Ben Minster and Dalton Ribordy, Guetterman and a 3-pointer from Harding.

Louisburg senior Sam Guetterman goes up for two of his 26 points Friday against Anderson County.

Louisburg outscored Anderson County 26-9 in the third quarter to all but seal the game for the Wildcats and they were able to do it without one of their starters. Senior forward T.J. Dover was out with an illness, so the rest of the Wildcats picked up the slack.

Minster took Dover’s place in the starting lineup and scored in double figures with 13 points, while Ribordy and Desmond Doles each pulled down a team-high five rebounds.

“We played fantastic,” Nelson said. “We really asserted ourselves on both ends of the floor. We crashed hard and communicated on defense. We knew we were going to be thin on the bench missing T.J., and Ben wasn’t feeling well either, but we picked each other up. It was fantastic. Offensively, we took high-percentage shots and we didn’t settle. We asserted ourselves defensively and we set the tone with perimeter defense.”

In fact, the Wildcats missed different players with illness throughout the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic, but were still able to finish with a 2-1 record, with their lone loss coming against Burlington earlier in the week.

“They picked each other up and did a fantastic job,” Nelson said. “I would like to have that Burlington game back, but it was everything you could ask for. We used all 10 of our players tonight and everyone did something well. Monday we get back to work and fix the couple errors that we have.”

Louisburg will get into Frontier League play starting this week and it will be tested early. The Wildcats host Eudora, the No. 7 team in Class 4A Division I, on Tuesday. Then next week, the Wildcats will travel to No. 3 Ottawa before they take a break for the holidays.

“I will be glad to have a home game more than anything else,” Nelson said. “If you believe all the preseason standings, (Ottawa and Eudora) were the No. 1 and 2 teams in our league, so we will see what we are made of pretty soon.”

LOU               20           11           26           18 – 75

BUR               9             17           9             14 – 49

LOUISBURG (2-2): Sam Guetterman 26, Grant Harding 19, Ben Minster 13, Dalton Ribordy 6, Desmond Doles 4, Jayce Geiman 3, Dalton Stone 3, Jake Hill 1. Totals: 31-55 8-15 75. 3-point field goals: 5, (Harding 2, Geiman, Guetterman, Stone)