Topeka ? This was the game Jack Schreiner didn’t think he’d see, and he certainly never wants to see it again.

Free State High’s boys basketball coach watched as his team never caught up with Topeka, outgunned 80-75 Tuesday at Topeka High. The Firebirds never stopped Topeka’s offense, allowing layups, short jumpers and just about everything else Topeka wanted.

“It was a complete fundamental breakdown,” Schreiner said. “I mean, we scored 75 points and we still lost. We ought to be able to win when we score that much.”

It was the most points allowed by the Firebirds since an 81-78 loss to Shawnee Mission East during the 1998-99 season. Throw in Wichita Southeast’s 73 points on Saturday, and little has gone right for Free State in the past week.

One could call it a complete turnaround from the beginning of the season, when the Firebirds surrendered just 43.8 points per game in their 5-0 start. But in the last four games, FSHS opponents are scoring 69.8 per game.

The difference has been a lack of defensive aggressiveness and communication.

“We were communicating so well, we knew where everyone was. Even if you got beat, you knew where your man was because everyone’d be talking,” senior Bijai Jones said. “Now, we’re back to where we were last year when we try to outscore everybody.”

The Trojans were game for a shootout. They opened a 25-19 lead after the first quarter, despite Free State hitting all seven field-goal attempts and all four free throws.

Topeka (10-5) used pump fakes to get Firebird defenders in the air, or passed behind the Firebird defense to wide-open players under the basket. Free State (9-6) never solved its defensive problems, even when it pulled within two points, 34-32, late in the second quarter.

Topeka closed with a 7-4 run, including a late bucket where some player penetration opened up — again — a Trojan under the basket.

“They’d beat us off the dribble and we didn’t have our help-man defense,” Schreiner said. “We had a few calls that didn’t go our way, and we had some turnovers, but it was just our lack of fundamentals.”

The offense, which notched its fourth 70-point game of the season, responded by looking inside to seniors Keith Wooden and Jones. Wooden, who didn’t start for the first time this season because of a missed practice, scored a team-high 23 points. Jones added 14.

The Firebirds were within four, 75-71, with 1:16 remaining in the fourth quarter, but two turnovers and five Topeka free throws sealed the Trojans’ win.

FSHS senior Cameron Karlin scored seven in the fourth quarter, finishing with 14, while junior Dain Dillingham added 13.

Now Free State, which travels to Shawnee Mission East Friday, will try to re-focus on what was so successful at the start of the season: defense.

“We go back to square one tomorrow and we go back to fundamentals,” Schreiner said.