Louisburg junior Ben Minster goes up for a shot against Baldwin on Tuesday in the second game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Burlington Middle School. The Wildcats picked up their first victory of the season, 63-50.

BURLINGTON – In its third game of the year, and its second in as many nights, the Louisburg boys basketball team was able to get its first victory of the season and the Wildcats weren’t about to let it get away – no matter what their opponent threw at them.

Louisburg faced off with Baldwin in the second game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Burlington Middle School, and despite a barrage of eight second half 3-pointers from the Bulldogs, Louisburg came away with a 63-50 victory.

“Given how poorly we played the night before, to come out here with the mentality to rectify the errors we made in our last game, for the most part we did that,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them about that and says a lot about the team mentally and physically to play on back to back nights.”

The Wildcats (1-2) used a couple big runs to pull away from the Bulldogs, who found themselves playing catch up most of the evening. Louisburg went on a 15-2 run to end the first half and took a 15-point halftime advantage.

Baldwin, which had 11 3-pointers in the game, converted eight of them in the second half to eventually cut the Louisburg lead to seven points with 3 minutes and 45 seconds left in the game.

From there, the Wildcats created some more distance as they finished on a 10-4 run, including six straight points from senior Grant Harding – two of which came on a steal and a breakaway dunk. Baskets from senior T.J. Dover and junior Ben Minster helped ice the game during the stretch.

“We have to have the mindset throughout the whole game and not just stretches, even though it is nice when they do it,” Nelson said of the offensive spurts. “We had another run at the end of the fourth quarter. During those stretches, the guys were acting instinctively, instead of reactionary. When these guys are instinctive, they can do some really good things.”

Louisburg senior Jake Hill dribbles toward the basket during Tuesday’s contest in Baldwin.

In the second quarter, Louisburg led just 17-15 but five straight free throws from Minster and Harding, along with baskets from Minster, Sam Guetterman, Jake Hill and Harding helped key the big first half run.

Louisburg had to play with some adversity most of the night as it didn’t have starting forward Dalton Ribordy, who was out with an illness. Dover, the team’s other starting forward, was saddled with foul trouble for much of the night.

The Wildcats were forced to play smaller with juniors Desmond Doles and Minster, but those two players, along with Hill, picked up the slack. Minster scored in double figures with 14 points while Doles and Hill combined for 10 points.

“This was our best team game of the season,” Nelson said. “We had guys come off the bench and do some really nice things. We had to play smaller than we usually do, but our rotations were good. Ben and Dez stepped up big time for us. Without Dalton we are pretty thin, but it was nice to see those other guys play well.”

Harding led Louisburg in scoring with 19 points, and along with Minster, the Wildcats had three score in double figures as Dover finished with 10. Harding also led the Wildcats with five rebounds and three steals.

Louisburg will try for its second straight win Friday when it travels back to Burlington to play Anderson County for the final game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic.

LOU               14           8              17           14 – 63

BAL                11           6              22           11 – 50

LOUISBURG (1-2): Grant Harding 19, Ben Minster 14, T.J. Dover 10, Jayce Geiman 6, Desmond Doles 6, Sam Guetterman 4, Jake Hill 4. Totals: 21-42 17-27 63. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman 2)

LOUISBURG LOSES TOURNEY OPENER TO BURLINGTON

The Louisburg boys basketball team had an opportunity to defend its Wildcat-Bulldog Classic title Monday when they traveled to Burlington in the first of the three-game round-robin tournament.

Those title hopes took a hit as Burlington scored 22 fourth quarter points to defeat Louisburg 60-52 after Louisburg held a one-point lead going into the final frame.

“They zoned us quite a bit and we didn’t have good communication,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We didn’t rebound real well and had some turnovers. We had a few calls that didn’t go our way, but we didn’t react the way we needed to.”

Burlington had a big night at the free-throw line as it converted 23 of 31 from the stripe, compared to just 11 for 16 for Louisburg. The Wildcats shot 37 percent for the game.

Senior T.J. Dover led Louisburg in scoring with 10 points, while Minster also finished double figures with 10.

LOU               9              13           17           13 – 52

BUR               9              18           11           22 – 60

LOUISBURG: T.J. Dover 12, Ben Minster 10, Grant Harding 9, Jayce Geiman 8, Sam Guetterman 6, Desmond Doles 5, Jake Hill 2. Totals: 19-51 11-16 52. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Harding)

Louisburg senior T.J. Dover goes up for a basket Friday during the Wildcats’ season opener at Pittsburg High School. Dover finished with a team-high 14 points in Louisburg 53-46 loss.

PITTSBURG – There are many things coaches can simulate in practice to prepare their team for when the season starts.

Athleticism isn’t one of them.

That was on full display Friday when the Louisburg boys basketball team traveled to Pittsburg for its season opener. The Purple Dragons caused havoc on the perimeter and it took a while for the Wildcats to settle in.

By then, the Wildcats didn’t have enough time to overcome a first half deficit and went on to fall to Pittsburg 53-46. Despite the loss, the Wildcats still left Pittsburg with a good frame of mind.

“I thought our teamwork was fantastic,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “When we had the opportunity to run our two-man game, we did a really good job with that. Pittsburg is just faster than what we can show in practice, but we just have to have that mentality. The boys played their tails off. They were the SEK champs last year and we played them at their place. We knew it would be tough, but we had our chances.”

Defensively, the Wildcats held the Purple Dragons on first shot opportunities, but Pittsburg was quicker to the ball on missed shots as it had 12 second-chance points in the first half which helped them jump out to a double digit lead in the second quarter.

Louisburg took an early 6-3 lead after a dunk from senior Grant Harding, but the Purple Dragons responded and Pittsburg took a 14-11 lead after the first period.

Senior Grant Harding dunks the ball during the first quarter Friday in Pittsburg.

Wildcat senior Sam Guetterman cut it to one point with a reverse layup to start the second quarter, but from there Pittsburg went on a 9-2 run that was stopped on baskets from seniors T.J. Dover and Jayce Geiman. Pittsburg went into halftime with a 27-19 advantage.

Pittsburg also caused havoc on the Louisburg perimeter as it forced 11 first half turnovers, including eight in the second period.

“They put perimeter pressure on us really, really well,” Nelson said. “Looking back, and it is something we emphasize, we give up 12-14 second chance points and that is your ball game right there. Even despite their pressure, we exploited their weaknesses in the post on occasion. There are still so many good things to look back on, and if we can get a couple of those shots to fall that almost went in, then it might have been a little different.”

The Wildcats calmed down in the second half and had just two turnovers the rest of the game. Louisburg stayed in the game from the free-throw line as it converted 7 of 8 opportunities in the third quarter, including six consecutive from juniors Ben Minster and Dalton Ribordy. Louisburg was 13-for-16 for the contest.

Dover, who scored a game-high 14 points, had eight of those in the final quarter to keep the Wildcats in it. Harding was next on the team with nine points.

Although they are still looking for that first win, the Wildcats have positives to build on.

“In my four years here, this is the best defensive rotation we have had,” Nelson said. “Pittsburg is a fast team and we played man defense most of the night. Our rotations were great and there are good things to take from this. We would have liked to get a win, but it is equally important to take our lumps, learn from them and be ready for the tournament.”

That tournament begins today when Louisburg travels to Burlington for the first round of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic. The Wildcats will face Burlington tonight and then will turn around and play Baldwin on Tuesday. It will all wrap up with one final game Friday.

LOU               11           8             14           13 – 46

PIT                 14           13           14           12 – 53

LOUISBURG (0-1): T.J. Dover 14, Grant Harding 9, Jayce Geiman 7, Sam Guetterman 6, Dalton Ribordy 5, Ben Minster 5. Totals 17-40 13-16 46. 3-point field goals: 1, (Geiman)

Louisburg’s Jayce Geiman is one of seven Wildcat seniors for the 2016-17 season, and those players will be looked upon to guide the team as they try and bounce back from a rough finish a year ago.

Once the final buzzer sounded on the 2015-16 season, members of Louisburg boys basketball team were ready to put it behind them.

It was a season that got off to such promise after the Wildcats won six of their first nine games, but it ended with 12 straight losses through a rugged Frontier League schedule. The players plan on using that experience to fuel them for the upcoming season that tips off Friday.

“Absolutely we learned from it,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “I think they learned how to deal with adversity, given how much existed. It would have been easy for them to hang their heads when the injuries came, or we ran in to a juggernaut of an opponent, but they learned from it and will use it as motivation this year.”

The Wildcats will feature a roster of predominantly upperclassmen, which includes seven seniors and two juniors that saw significant varsity minutes a season ago.

“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve had a team dominated by upperclassmen and it has been fantastic thus far,” Nelson said. “It is through our upperclassmen that our entire program will evolve. They’ve demonstrated the right way to play, focused on becoming fundamentally sound and competed with one another in an effort to not only improve themselves, but also their brothers in the program.”

One of those players was considered among the best in the Frontier League a season ago in Grant Harding. The Wildcats senior returns after he earned second team all-league honors, and was also named to the honorable mention all-state team after he averaged 16 points and eight rebounds a game last year.

Harding will play a key role in the Wildcats’ offense this season as fellow seniors Sam Guetterman, Jayce Geiman, T.J. Dover and junior Dalton Ribordy will start along with him to begin the season.

“(Grant) wants to be one of the best to have played at Louisburg High School and knows how much dedication it takes,” Nelson said. “He’s definitely stepped up his training over the summer working on his few areas for improvement. He’s vital to our team success, not just as a scoring threat, but also defensively and distributing the ball and making those around him better.

“This group loves to play together, the coaches love to coach them and while Grant will be counted on, it will be no different than in past years. Our best games have always been when he, T.J., Sammy, Jayce, Jake (Hill) and others have been working as one.”

Louisburg senior Grant Harding returns this year after he averaged 16 points and eight rebounds a season ago as a second-team all-league player.

Although the Wildcats might not be as tall as some of their opponents, as Dover (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) and Ribordy (6-2, 200) will give them some scoring and rebounding options down low along with junior Garrett Lowry (6-4, 295).

Seniors Jake Hill, Dalton Stone, Alex Seuferling, along with juniors Ben Minster and Desmond Doles, will give the Wildcats a lot of production off the bench.

“This is the best our rotation has been in my time here, given that we have multiple ‘true’ posts,” Nelson said. “In past years, we’ve had to play guys out of position occasionally, but this year, with TJ back, Dalton ready to break out and Garrett Lowry evolving, we can finally have a front court and back court rotation which will further facilitate everything. With Grant, Sammy and Jayce, expected to play a lot, Jake, Ben, Dalton Stone, Desmond, and Alex will also fit in to our rotation as needed and all offer different strengths that we’ll look to exploit as we progress.”

It will be a tough schedule for the Wildcats as they compete in a tough Frontier League that includes four combined games against No. 4 Ottawa and No. 8 Eudora, who are both ranked in Class 4A-Division I.  Also in there are tough games against rival Paola, who qualified for the state tournament last season.

“Our league will once again be one of the best in the state,” Nelson said. “There’s not an easy game on the schedule, but that’s to the benefit of this group, especially the upperclassmen. They’ve seen it for 3-plus years and know the kind of dedication and talent it takes to do well in this league and look forward to the challenges it presents.”

Louisburg will tipoff its season Friday when it travels to Pittsburg for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Wildcats will then travel to Burlington next week for three games in the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic.

Senior T.J. Dover goes up for a turnaround jumper during Louisburg’s intrasquad scrimmage July 15 on the final day of the Wildcats’ team camp. Louisburg will return six seniors that saw varsity time a season ago.

It has been a different kind of summer for the Louisburg boys basketball team.

Wildcat head coach Jason Nelson had taken his team to a summer league at Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo., the last three seasons in order to work on their game and become more comfortable working together.

Nelson still wanted to stress that continuity, but decided to change things up a bit. He kept his team back in Louisburg and took part in scrimmages with Osawatomie High School along with open gym workouts.

“The summer league provided many opportunities for them to play to the expectations of the staff, however, this year we are fortunate enough to be able to focus on perfecting our program, and not our style of play, which is a testament to our boys progress,” Nelson said. “We played two controlled scrimmages against Osawatomie and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcomes.  We didn’t keep score, but really were able to focus on our half court sets and transition in a controlled atmosphere in which (Osawatomie) coach (Chris) Pitts and myself could stop and ‘coach’ when needed.

“Perhaps the best aspect of the scrimmages aside from our tangible improvements was that were able to play with many different rotations.”

Grant Harding drives the lane for a shot during the team’s final day of camp on July 15.

Those results of that offseason work came together for the Wildcat team camp. The camp, which started on July 11, brought the team together for five consecutive days in order to work on basics, but also to help bring along the younger players.

Nelson also brought back a couple Louisburg High Schools alums as former players David Embers and Garrett Griffin each attended the camp sessions to help out.

“First and foremost, camp provides a ‘bridge’ between middle school and high school for our incoming freshmen,” Nelson said. “It gives them the opportunity to see what our program is about, the dedication our older boys put into the program and that our ultimate goal is to be a credible team in one of, if not the best league in the state.  We focused more on fundamentals with the younger guys and the older guys worked on refining some of the things we need to do better this year.

“It was fantastic to have David and Garrett there to assist. The boys respect both of them and their presence lends itself to a program mentality, not just a team.”

The Wildcats have a senior-heavy roster for the upcoming season and that experience hopes to lend to a successful 2016-17 season. Senior Grant Harding, an all-Frontier League and all-state player, returns as the team’s top scorer.

Guards Jayce Geiman, Sam Guetterman, Jake Hill, Korbin Hankinson and forward T.J. Dover are the other seniors who hope to get Louisburg closer to the top of the league standings.

Louisburg got off to a good start last season as it won six of its first nine games, but struggled down the stretch as the Wildcats lost their remaining games to finish with a 6-15 record. Nelson hopes that rough stretch propelled his team to get better in the offseason.

“If adversity makes a group stronger, than this group of seniors ought to be the strongest in the state,” Nelson joked. “In all seriousness, I feel like this squad is far better in terms of both their individual and team skill set. They all went through the excruciating adversity last year and came to summer ready to improve and I couldn’t be happier or more proud of them.

“For the first time in my tenure, we have multiple kids playing AAU ball, working on their games individually when the time permits by shooting, dribbling, etc., and I feel some of this can be attributed to the roller coaster of emotions that last year provided.”

Louisburg junior Grant Harding had a good season for the Wildcat basketball team and he was recently selected to the all-Frontier League second team and was also named as an honorable mention all-state player by the Topeka Capital-Journal and Wichita Eagle.

Throughout the season, Grant Harding was a big focus for the opposition when it came to stopping the Louisburg boys basketball team.

Opposing teams knew Harding was going to get the ball and that he was a big part of the Wildcat offense. All that attention didn’t seem to slow the Louisburg junior much and the rest of the Frontier League coaches took notice.

The all-Frontier League basketball team was recently released and Harding earned second team honors after a breakout season. Harding averaged 16 points a game to lead Louisburg and also averaged eight rebounds and three assists a contest.

“In our league, which I feel is the best in all of 4A, as a group, to get recognized at all is a huge honor,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Being recognized as one of the top 10 players in the league is even more of an honor and I couldn’t be more proud of him. His hard work and dedication to the sport he loves is paying off and that’s one of the greatest aspects of coaching.”

Harding was also recently recognized outside of the league. He earned all-state honors as he was named to the Class 4A-Division I honorable mention team by the Topeka Capital-Journal and Wichita Eagle.

Paola and Eudora, which each earned state tournament bids, led the way with three all-league selections as did Spring Hill.

2016 All-Frontier League Boys Basketball Team

First team: Justin Criddle, sr., Paola; Austin Downing, sr., Eudora; Isaac McCullough, jr., Ottawa; Mason McDow, sr., Paola; Ivan Hughes, sr., Spring Hill.

Second team: Perry Carroll, jr., Ottawa; Brian Tolefree, sr., Eudora; Grant Harding, jr., Louisburg; Jomain Rouser, sr., Eudora; Alex Wilson, sr., Paola.

Honorable mention: Jackson Barth, sr., Baldwin; Trey Heinrich, jr., Spring Hill; Jacob Jennings, sr., De Soto; Jacob Hodge, jr., Spring Hill; Jayce Dighans, soph., Baldwin.

Last October, Paola activities director Jeff Hines went to a Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) regional meeting to get updates on classification issues.

Six months later, Hines found himself in Topeka, in front of the Kansas Senate Education Committee to talk about a bill that could change the way schools are classified.

On Thursday, Hines sat in front of the committee to discuss Senate Bill 464 – a bill that he proposed with guidance of Sen. Caryn Tyson.

Statute 72-130 establishes specific guidelines pertaining to the organizational structure and functions of KSHSAA. Senate Bill 464 would change one part of the statute and strike the line which allows schools to be classified only by student enrollment.

“The total number of students in schools is a great starting point for classifying them,” Hines said.  “It makes sense that the largest schools should play the largest schools and the smallest schools should play the smallest schools, but there are other things that need to be considered.”

For several months, KSHSAA has had a classification committee discuss different ways to have a competitive balance with its member schools. They came up with ideas of reducing the number of classifications or changing the number of schools in a division.

“There were no other factors being considered and that bothered me,” Hines said, “All that would do was reshuffle the schools just a little bit but we would have the same problem.”

The problem for the committee was its hands were tied thanks to the wording in Statute 72-130 that specifically states schools can only be classified by enrollment numbers and nothing else.

So Hines went to work and helped create Senate Bill 464, which does not give a specific solution to the problem, but rather would take wording out of the statute to allow KSHSAA to figure out how to classify schools on its own.

Hines gave a 15 minute testimony in front of the committee and then answered questions from the committee members for more than 30 minutes afterward. Before the hearing, Hines received support from every member in the Frontier League, Pioneer League and all but two schools in the Kaw Valley League, as those two didn’t respond before the hearing.

Following Hines’ testimony, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, had concerns as to why KSHSAA did not come in front of the committee itself to ask for changes.

Hines informed the committee that it would be redundant for KSHSAA to endorse the plan, because if approved, member schools would still have to vote on it. He believes Bill 464 would let KSHSAA come up with a system and let schools improve it, instead of the legislature.

“KSHSAA wants to be neutral because this proposal would affect different schools in different ways,” Hines said. “It could be very beneficial to some schools and others may not like it because they might have to move up a class. So, why should KSHSAA have to pick sides in it and pit member against member? It doesn’t have to be that way in my opinion.

“Yes, a school that has to move up a classification might not like it, but is it the best thing overall for the association? They can’t look themselves in the mirror and say ‘No, this isn’t the right thing to do?’

A major problem for some member schools in KSHSAA is they do not believe it is competitively equal the way it is currently structured.

“I am not a believer in participation medals,” Hines said. “If they are kindergartners, sure, but when you start playing, part of being successful later in life is learning how to compete. We all competed for a job when you have gone in for an interview and that is good. You need to have that skillset and I am not saying that we need to give more trophies out and give everyone a shot, but I just want a system in place that is equitable for all so that some don’t have an unfair advantage at the expense of the rest and I think that is what is happening.”

One of the problems is the lack of balance between championships won between public and private high schools. Hines did research and presented numbers at the hearing at the number of state championships won between private and public schools from 2004 to 2014.

Here is what he found.

• Private schools make up slightly less than 8 percent of the KSHSAA membership.
• Private schools have won slightly less than 32 percent of the state championships.
• Based on membership percentage, private schools should only win approximately 8 percent of the titles, not nearly 32 percent.
• Private schools are winning four times more state titles than should be expected based on their memberships.
• Private schools are nine times more likely to win five or more state titles than their public school peers.

“In that period of time, I looked for who has won five or more state titles,” Hines said. “That is a difficult feat. You look at Paola’s history and we have won like seven and Louisburg has won three in 100-plus years. During those 10 years, 37 percent of those private schools won five or more during that time and public schools had 4 percent win five or more. Private schools are nine times more likely to become a dynasty or a successful program with strong tradition. You tell me how we are all the same?”

Another problem they are facing is schools with a high percentage of low socioeconomic status (SCS) students, cannot compete against fellow schools in their own classification in many activities, including football.

“There is a whole bunch of schools in the Kansas City, Kansas school district that are 6A or 5A that have no business competing against those really hard schools,” Hines said. “They don’t have resources, they don’t have the students, there is no interest and they have all those things working against them and I feel bad for those kids. Who wants to trot out against some of those bigger schools and know you are going to get your ears boxed in? That is not fun. Moreover, it is not challenging for the kids those schools are playing against.”

Hines believes competition is important when it comes to the growth of the student athlete and it is beneficial for the school and its community.

“Not only what it does for grades, but for what it does for the human spirit,” Hines said.
“When I was the FFA advisor in Paola, we won 10 state championships in nine years and you could tell the interest by the students and the community went through the roof. You can say the same thing about Louisburg and what Jim Morgan does with his FFA kids. People flock to success.

“Naturally, when they are there they feel better about themselves, they want to work harder in the classroom to stay eligible and kids that want to stay involved are going to be more successful in life. It is all about having the chance to be successful.”

During Hines’ testimony in front of the Senate Education Committee, not all of the legislatures seemed open to the idea. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, asked Hines if he would be willing to relinquish state funding if the legislature agrees to release oversight of how KSHSAA classifies schools.

“If we relinquished the funding behind it, (high school activities) would disappear,” Hines said at the hearing.

No action was taken following the hearing, but the committee chairman spent 15 minutes with him and Tyson to help them strategize on what to do next.

One option is to amend the bill to include more specifics that could include a multiplier or a separate division for private schools and a low SCS school de-multiplier.

Another option, Hines said, would be to have the classification committee draft a letter to the Senate Education Committee that states they would like to study these other factors as part of a proposal for revamping the classification system, but not until they feel the legislature is open to changing the law.

Whatever decision comes next, however, Hines wants it to be decided by multiple people within KSHSAA on how to proceed.

“I don’t feel comfortable making that change because I feel a committee needs to do the work,” Hines said. “I shouldn’t be doing it, nor should 11 legislators, you need more. We should let the classification committee work on it and hopefully we can get some things accomplished.

“The only way to allow this to happen is to remove the barrier in place that exists due to the state statute.”

Louisburg’s Ben Minster dives to the floor to try and get a loose ball away from Paola’s Tanner Moala on Friday during the Wildcats’ substate tournament game at Louisburg High School. Louisburg saw its season come to an end with a 58-34 loss.

It wasn’t the most pleasant finish to the season for the Louisburg boys basketball team and that end came Friday.

During the Class 4A-Division I substate tournament at Louisburg High School, the Wildcats met No. 1 seed Paola in the opening round and gave the Panthers a close game through three quarters. Louisburg couldn’t hold on, however, as it fell to the eventual substate champion, 58-34.

The Wildcats (6-15), who won six of their first nine games to start the year, went winless the rest of the way, including several close losses down the stretch. Although the season didn’t end on a high note, Louisburg coach Jason Nelson believes his team grew in a lot of different areas.

“There were probably two games we should have won during that stretch without question and it would be a lot different,” Nelson said. “This is probably the best 4A league in the state, especially when you look at the upper echelon of teams.

“We had some season goals that we strove to meet. We wanted to keep teams at 60 points or less a game on average and we matched that. We wanted to outrebound teams and I think we were close there, which is a testament to our kids because we are undersized compared to most of the other schools. The turnover number was good, we just had a hard time finding consistency on offense.”

Louisburg senior Jacob Welsh drives past Paola’s Blain Ohlmeier during Friday’s substate game in Louisburg.

Offense was hard to come by for Louisburg again Friday, but the Wildcats found themselves up against a Paola front line that stands 6-7, 6-7 and 6-5. Louisburg also went up against an aggressive perimeter defense that made it difficult to score from the outside.

Although the offense wasn’t clicking, the Wildcat defense slowed Paola down, especially in the second and third quarters to keep the game close.

“You just look at Paola’s kids, they are just huge, well-coached and good,” Nelson said. “Our kids battled and did what we asked them to do. We emphasized blocking out just because they are so massive, and we could have done a little better job early, but to our credit they cleaned it up. We got the looks we wanted, we slowed them down offensively and they took the shots we wanted them to take. I couldn’t be prouder of our kids.”

Paola opened the game on a 17-3 run to get out to a double-digit lead early. To start the second quarter, Louisburg got two baskets from Korbin Hankinson and another from Ben Minster to cut the Paola lead to 10.

The Panthers then went on a mini 8-0 run to push their lead to 18 points shortly before halftime. Louisburg’s Jayce Geiman hit a 3-pointer with a minute left in the first half, but Paola still held a 29-14 lead at half.

T.J. Dover hit a basket to cut the Paola lead to 13 early in the third quarter, but it would be as close as the Wildcats would get.

Dover led the Wildcats in scoring with eight points as eight different players scored for Louisburg. Grant Harding and Hankinson each finished with six points for the Wildcats.

LOUISBURG                5             9             11           9 – 34

PAOLA                         17           12           11           18 – 58

LOUISBURG (6-15): T.J. Dover 8, Grant Harding 6, Korbin Hankinson 6, Jayce Geiman 4, Jacob Welsh 4, Ben Minster 2, Dalton Ribordy 2, Sam Guetterman 2. 3-point field goals: 2, (Harding, Geiman)

Louisburg sophomore Dalton Ribordy puts up a shot against Paola during a game earlier this season in Louisburg. The Wildcats fell to Paola on Friday, 70-31.

PAOLA – The Louisburg High School boys basketball team had a big challenge of trying to stay with No. 3 ranked Paola on Friday at Paola High School.

Paola made it difficult on the Wildcats from the start.

The Panthers took an 18-point lead into the second quarter and the Louisburg offense didn’t have an answer as it fell 70-31. The Wildcats ended their regular season with a 6-14 record.

In the process, Paola captured their undefeated Frontier League title in front of its home crowd on senior night. Throw in two hall of fame inductions and it was a difficult environment for the Wildcats to play in.

Paola jumped out to a big lead and never looked back and it took a 26-8 advantage into the second quarter and led 38-14 at halftime.

Junior T.J. Dover helped the Wildcats offensively as he, and fellow junior Grant Harding, were the lone players to score in double figures. Dover led Louisburg with 12 points and Harding finished with 11, who also had eight rebounds in the loss.

Paola’s Mason McDow was one of four Paola players to score in double figures and led the Panthers with 23 points.

The postseason will now begin for the Wildcats as they will host the Class 4A substate basketball tournament, beginning Friday. Louisburg, the No. 4 seed, will face none other than Paola (18-2) again. Paola is the No. 1 seed and the game will tipoff at 7:30 p.m., on Friday

No. 2 Fort Scott (11-9) and No. 3 Spring Hill (10-10) will square off at 6 p.m. on Friday and the winners of the two games will meet in the championship at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Louisburg High School.

LOUISBURG                8             6             13           4 – 31

PAOLA                         26           12           20           12 – 70

LOUISBURG (6-14): T.J. Dover 6-12 0-1 12; Grant Harding 4-10 3-3 11; Korbin Hankinson 2-4 0-0 4; Alex Dunn 1-1 0-0 2; Dalton Ribordy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 14-43 3-6 31. 3-point field goals: none

Louisburg junior Sam Guetterman passes off to a teammate during Tuesday’s senior night contest against De Soto at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats nearly stopped their losing streak, but lost in overtime, 66-62.

For the second time in three games, the Louisburg High School boys basketball team had the ball in its hands in the final seconds with the chance to win.

And for the second time in three games, the Wildcats came up empty.

Louisburg had the opportunity to knock off De Soto at home Tuesday, but came up short in a 66-62 overtime loss in a contest in which the Wildcats rallied from seven points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

On a night that could have had a lot of celebration with the honoring of Alex Dunn, Jacob Welsh and Ben Brummel on senior night, or Grant Harding’s 33-point effort, instead ended in disappointment.

“It really stuck to the script as what a lot of the other games have been,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We outrebounded them, we broke the press fine and all these little things that we are focusing on in practice, we are doing it. When we attacked the rim and run what we do, good things happened. It is what it is. It doesn’t matter who is on the court, all five guys want to be the best they can be, we just aren’t putting it altogether.”

Harding had his best night of the season offensively as the De Soto defenders couldn’t keep him out of the lane. He made eight field goals in the game, but Harding hurt De Soto at the free-throw line where was 15-for-19.

Despite all that, the Wildcats needed one more of Harding’s shots to go down at the end of regulation. With the game tied, and seconds remaining on the clock, Harding drove the lane but his shot bounced off the rim and the game then went into overtime.

Junior Grant Harding scores two of his 33 points on a dunk Tuesday against De Soto.

“Grant was superb,” Nelson said. “He shot great from the free-throw line and really everyone is doing what we need them to do. But when we have breakdowns, they come at the worst time. We have been in a lot of close games, but we just can’t seem to get those.”

Louisburg jumped out to 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter when junior Jayce Geiman connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

De Soto started to battle back and took one-point lead with under three minutes left in the first half. But the Wildcats got big baskets from Harding, Korbin Hankinson and a free throw from Dalton Ribordy to give them a 25-21 halftime lead.

Everything seemed to be going Louisburg’s way in the third quarter as it took an eight point lead with three minutes left in the period. Then things started to unravel.

The Wildcats (6-13) started missing shots and De Soto took advantage as it went on a 12-1 run to end the quarter with a 38-35 lead as it got forward Isaac Albert involved. Albert scored a team-high 26 points and was tough for the Wildcats to stop inside.

Louisburg nearly tied it up at the buzzer as Welsh heaved a three-quarter court shot that hit off the back of the rim and went out to end the third.

“It is ultimately on us, but we had some advantageous foul calls that took us out of our rhythm a little bit,” Nelson said. “But if we played inside-out like we are supposed to do, those things probably don’t matter.”

De Soto eventually built a seven point lead, but the Wildcats had another charge in them. Harding scored eight straight points in about a minute span get Louisburg back in it.

Harding converted a basket and was fouled for the traditional three-point play, hit two more free throws and then knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead.

De Soto took the lead back, but a basket from Sam Guetterman, along with free throws from Harding and Welsh gave Louisburg a 53-52 lead with under a minute left. De Soto hit a free throw to tie the game with 21 seconds left, which gave the Wildcats one lost opportunity before overtime, but Harding’s drive to the basket rolled off.

That missed opportunity by Louisburg seemed to fuel De Soto as it opened the extra period on a 9-3 run to give it a 62-56 lead with 45 seconds left.

Welsh converted a traditional three-point play of his own to cut the lead to three, and after a De Soto basket, Harding answered with a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining. After the made basket, the Wildcats stole the ball from De Soto in backcourt with a chance to at least tie the game, but turned the ball over themselves.

De Soto sank two free throws with eight seconds left to seal the win.

Louisburg seniors (from left) Alex Dunn, Ben Brummel and Jacob Welsh were honored before the game during a senior night ceremony.

It was the final regular season home game for Louisburg’s three seniors as they were honored before the game during a senior night ceremony. Nelson knows those three brought a lot to the team this year.

“Welsh and Corbin Wertz (2015 grad) are two of the most intense defenders that I have had the opportunity to coach and Jacob is a hard worker,” Nelson said. “Alex couldn’t play last year with his knee, but he gives us some of the best minutes and he makes things happen. Brummel works hard and has a lot of natural ability and I wish I had him for four years. They are super kids.”

Louisburg will try and stop its 10-game losing skid tonight when the Wildcats travel to Paola for their final game of the regular season. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG                16           9             10           18           9 – 62

DE SOTO                     11           10           17           15           13 – 66

LOUISBURG (6-13): Grant Harding 8-14 15-19 33; Jayce Geiman 2-7 0-0 6; T.J. Dover 2-4 2-4 6; Jacob Welsh 1-4 3-3 5; Sam Guetterman 2-4 0-0 4; Dalton Ribordy 1-4 2-3 4; Alex Dunn 1-3 0-0 2; Korbin Hankinson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 18-42 22-31 62. 3-point field goals: 4, (Geiman 2, Harding 2)

Louisburg junior Jake Hill puts up a shot between two Spring Hill defenders Friday at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats fell to Spring Hill 58-32 after the Broncos hit eight 3-pointers on the night.

During its losing streak, the Louisburg boys basketball team hasn’t caught many breaks.

Through much of the last nine games, the Wildcats have been trying to put a complete game together. There have been close losses, but some have been lopsided in nature.

Unfortunately, it was the latter for the Wildcats on Friday against Spring Hill at Louisburg High School.

Spring Hill caught fire from the outside as it connected on eight 3-pointers on the night and ran away with a 58-32 victory over Louisburg.

“We rebounded well, we pushed the ball well, but we can’t let a couple of small bits of adversity take us out of our game plan,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We made our first three shots to start the game, we are assertive, going through our offense and then we go through a little bit of adversity and it takes us out of what we practice all the time. I guess I need to do a better job of prepping them.”

Senior Alex Dunn dives on the floor for a loose ball with teammate Dalton Ribordy on Friday.

The Wildcats (6-12) had a good idea the Broncos shot well from the outside. Even when Louisburg defenders got hands in the face of the Spring Hill shooters, they still found the bottom of the net.

Spring Hill pulled away in the second quarter as it hit six 3-pointers in the frame and took a 35-15 lead into halftime.

“Those definitely hurt because they were making shots and guys were doing what they were supposed to be doing,” Nelson said. “We were closing out, there were a few instances where our help-side defense wasn’t there, and that was unacceptable, but I thought we did ok. Coming out in the second half, we were assertive and got the looks we want, which is 15 feet and in. They just didn’t fall.”

Louisburg actually jumped out to an early lead as it scored on its first three possessions of the game, including two baskets from junior Sam Guetterman. From there, the Broncos went on a 12-2 run to take a 14-8 lead.

Then came a tough second quarter and the third quarter didn’t get much better as Spring Hill scored 19 more points to all but seal the win.

Junior Jayce Geiman led the Wildcats in scoring with eight points and junior Grant Harding added seven in the loss. Spring Hill’s Ivan Hughes led all scorers with game-high 22 points.

The Wildcats will try and snap their nine-game losing streak tonight when they host De Soto. Louisburg defeated De Soto earlier in the season and it hopes to end its regular season home schedule on a good note.

It will also be senior night for Louisburg as it will honor seniors Jacob Welsh, Alex Dunn and Ben Brummel. Tipoff for the game is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

 LOUISBURG               8             7             11           4 – 32

SPRING HILL               14           21           19           4 – 58

LOUISBURG (6-12): Jayce Geiman 3-7 0-0 8, Grant Harding 3-9 1-2 7, Jacob Welsh 2-5 2-2 6, Sam Guetterman 2-4 0-0 4, Alex Dunn 1-2 2-2 4, Dalton Ribordy 1-1 0-0 2, Jake Hill 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 12-36 6-8 32. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman 2)