Jack Schreiner can live with losing an occasional game, but this was more than he could stand.

Leavenworth High handed the Free State boys basketball team its first loss of the season, 60-53, on Saturday, leaving the coach flustered by his team’s lack of effort.

“This is the worst thing that can happen,” Schreiner said. “We got beat by a team that wanted it more than we did, plain and simple.”

The Firebirds (5-1) looked like a team playing its first game in two weeks and that had a “terrible” week of practice, Schreiner said.

“The worst part about it is to be outhustled,” Schreiner said. “That’s the part that bothers me the most. You’re going to have nights where the ball doesn’t go in. But we just got beat.”

FSHS came out sharp, with junior Cole Douglas and senior Bijai Jones each hitting his first three shots, keeping the Pioneers (4-3) out of sync.

But after Leavenworth’s Joe Manthe hit a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter, the Pioneers never trailed again.

And thanks to Free State’s sloppy third quarter, Leavenworth’s lead just grew.

The Firebirds had six turnovers and made just four of 11 shots, two of which were Keith Wooden dunks. The Pioneers outscored FSHS 19-8 in the third, but it wasn’t that they played that well.

Free State played that poorly.

“There wasn’t even that much pressure,” Schreiner said. “We just had kids that didn’t come to play, and that’s my fault as a coach.”

By the time the Firebirds mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, pulling to 53-50 with 1:50 remaining, it seemed they might keep their perfect record intact. But two quick turnovers halted any momentum they had built.

Free State High's Bijai Jones (42) looks to pass as he is swarmed by a pair of Leavenworth defenders. The Pioneers handed the Firebirds their first loss of the season, 60-53 on Saturday night at FSHS.

And with games against Olathe North, undefeated Olathe South and Olathe East in the next two weeks, it doesn’t get any easier for FSHS.

“We’re either going to show up and see if we’re ready,” Schreiner said, “or who knows what will happen.”

Leavenworth girls 47, Free State 40

With two players scoring 80 percent of Free State’s points, it might have seemed surprising that the Firebirds hung with Leavenworth on Saturday.

Nah.

It just worked out that way.

Junior Emilie Humbarger and sophomore Jamie Stanclift combined for 34 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Pioneers held on for the win.

“We knew that Humbarger and Stanclift were going to have to score some points tonight,” FSHS coach Bryan Duncan said. “So, no, I wouldn’t have been terribly surprised to hear that.”

Actually, until senior Jayme Lisher had a putback late in the third quarter, Stanclift and Humbarger were the only two Firebirds to score. By keeping Leavenworth senior Tiffany Brooks in check most of the night, FSHS (1-3) was able to disrupt the Pioneers’ offense.

“Defensively, I thought we were outstanding,” Duncan said. “But I think they disrupted our offense a lot too.”

They weren’t able to shake Stanclift, who scored a career-high 18 points, or Humbarger, who scored six of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. By the time Leavenworth (3-3) adjusted, junior Wallis Romzek nailed a couple of fourth-quarter three-pointers, bringing the Firebirds to within five, 45-40.

But FSHS couldn’t foul quickly enough to get the ball back to make another run.

The Firebirds will travel Tuesday to Washburn Rural.