The Chieftains’ largest lead was 15-8 and went into the locker room with a 27-24 lead thanks to a Nolan McGuire short-range shot before the buzzer sounded at halftime.

But Wildcats would battle back in the second half and eventually escape with a 63-60 victory.

Tonganoxie’s Lachlan McRae had a game-high 27 points, but Louisburg was able to hold on for the Frontier League victory.

There were three lead changes and five ties overall in the game. Louisburg got its first lead at 38-36 in the third quarter. Tonganoxie’s biggest run was a 7-0 spurt, while Louisburg’s was a 10-2 advantage.

Louisburg had 14 points off turnovers to Tonganoxie’s 6, and LHS also outrebounded THS, 44-33.

McRae had four three-pointers on the night, including one in the second half that rolled around and in at the shot clock buzzer. Luke Breuer finished with 15, McGuire with 12 and Kipton Harder with 4. Owen Seba scored 2 for Tonganoxie.

Herschel Strumberger led Louisburg scorers with 23. Also scoring for Louisburg were Lance Callahan with 16 Owen Marsh with 10, Derek Frederick with 6, John Guetterman with 5 and Lance Callahan with 3.

Tonganoxie shot nearly 42% (23-for-55) from the field compared to Louisburg’s 37.5% (21-for-56).

THS went 7-for-12 from the free-throw line, compared to Louisburg’s 16-for-26 performance.

McGuire was 2-for-3 from three-point land, while Harder went 1-for-2. THS overall was 7-for-26 from beyond the arc, while LHS was 5-for-12.

Tonganoxie falls to 0-1 on the season, but has the chance to get in the win column at the Garden City Roundball Classic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday’s game will be in Scott City and then later games in Garden City.