Some news moments become lifelong memories

Lawrence High boys basketball coach Mike Lewis noticed senior Anthony Selden was a little more talkative and amped up than usual prior to Friday’s game against Shawnee Mission West.

An athletic, 6-foot-4 wing, Selden thrives when he’s playing with extra energy. The reason he was excited Friday: his dad, Wayne, was sitting in the crowd and watching him play for the first time in a few years.

Selden and his teammates did their best to put on a show, cruising to a 70-48 victory at LHS to end a five-game losing streak. Selden scored a game-high 20 points, throwing down three dunks with six rebounds and four blocks.

“I thought for sure he would at least come out and really play hard and have good energy,” Lewis said of Selden. “He was talking and leading.”

During halftime, with a seven-point lead, the Lions (8-8, 5-4 in Sunflower League) told each other to stay focused. That wasn’t a problem for Selden. All night, he was in attack mode with strong, downhill drives.

Selden provided a spark in the third quarter, scoring on his own put-back. Then he followed with a baseline drive and dunk on the opposite side of the rim. From there, the Lions fed off of his energy. Lawrence ended the quarter on a 14-0 run in the final three minutes, opening up a 24-point lead. Senior guards Van Dave Jacob and Jake Rajewski scored the last five points of the spurt.

“This is a bunch of just weight off our shoulders. We feel way better now about ourselves, more confident,” said Selden, who scored eight points in the third quarter. “We pushed way harder than we ever played. This is probably the best game we’ve ever played.”

In the first half, 6-foot-2 junior guard Clarence King carried the offense. He saw no reason to settle for jump shots when he could drive past defenders — except once. With the clock running down in the first quarter, he dribbled at the top of the key and buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

That was only King’s warm-up act.

Off of the bench, he scored 16 points in the first half, making seven of his nine shots. He dished an alley-oop to Selden, which drew a roar from the crowd. Right before the halftime buzzer, King flicked a shot from half-court and watched it swish through the net. He continued running straight into the hallway that leads into the locker room, turning around after a few seconds to celebrate with teammates.

“We were at home and we wanted to put on a show for the crowd,” said King, who finished with 19 points. “I felt I could get to the paint easy and I did.”

The Lions looked like a different team. More ball movement and more intensity on defense, forcing SM West (9-7, 5-4) into turnovers with their full-court press. They shot 57 percent. King and Savonni Shazor led with three assists apiece.

After a team radio appearance on KLWN on Thursday night, Selden said players talked with each other about playing with more “positive energy.”

“As coach Lewis said, ‘Let’s go full throttle. Don’t hold back,'” Selden said.

Shawnee Mission West (48)

Wesley Clark 1-7 0-0 3, Branson Billinger 1-4 0-0 2, Cameron Southern 5-19 2-4 15, Eric Rhymes 3-10 1-2 8, Jack Durst 0-0 0-1 0, Markell Hood 3-11 0-0 7, Ring Ring 3-6 4-4 10, Emilio Elliott Jr. 1-1 1-2 3, Logan Wieneke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-58 8-13 48.

Lawrence (70)

Anthony Selden 8-10 4-4 20, Brett Chapple 4-8 2-4 11, Trey Quartlebaum 3-7 0-0 7, Jake Rajewski 2-3 0-0 4, Savonni Shazor 1-2 0-0 2, Clarence King 8-11 2-3 19, Zeke Mayo 0-2 0-0 0, Van Dave Jacob 2-4 0-0 5, Steven Strickland 1-4 0-0 0, Ethan Bentzinger 0-0 0-0 0, Willie Dotson 0-0 0-0 0, Mayson Quartlebaum 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Mallory 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-51 7-11 70.

SM West 11 15 9 13 — 48

Lawrence 18 15 26 11 — 70

3-point goals: SM West 6-19 (Southern 3, Clark, Rhymes, Hood); Lawrence 5-11 (King 2, Chapple, Quartlebaum, Jacob). Fouled out: Shazor. Turnovers: SM West 14, Lawrence 14.