Brady Morningstar picked a good time for the first dunk of his high school basketball career.

Free State High’s boys missed their first 10 shots Friday night at Lawrence High, and the Firebirds trailed the rival Lions, 5-0, when Danny Pike threw up brick No. 10. Morningstar, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, grabbed the rebound and threw down a dunk that woke up Free State’s crowd and energized the Firebirds.

“I was just trying to get the crowd fired up and get things started,” said Morningstar, who led FSHS (4-1) with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a 59-48 Sunflower League victory. “I saw it come off the rim, and I just dunked it.”

FSHS scored on its next eight possessions, including back-to-back three-pointers by Matt Green and Bobby Underwood. Sam Buhler capped the rally with a jumper that gave Free State a 20-17 lead with 6:23 left in the first half.

“As bad as we were playing, we were only down five,” FSHS coach Jack Schreiner said of his team’s early shooting woes. “I told them, ‘It has to get better for us. The shots will start falling.’ To be in the lead at halftime was huge.”

LHS (3-2) couldn’t take advantage of Free State’s poor shooting because the Lions turned the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes.

“The main thing was they gave our guards a hard time,” said LHS center Tony Anderson, who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. “They made it tough to see me down low.”

Free State High's Sam Buhler shoots over Lawrence High's Kristian Pope during the first boys intracity showdown of the season. The Firebirds defeated the Lions, 59-48, in a Sunflower League clash Friday night at LHS.

Lawrence High sophomore Chance Riley sank a three-pointer with 5:38 left in the first half that gave the Lions a 22-20 lead. But Anderson was the only offense LHS could muster for the next 14:41. Anderson scored the Lions’ final four field goals in the second quarter and their only two field goals in the third quarter before Riley sank another three-pointer early in the fourth quarter.

Free State led 34-31 at halftime and outscored the Lions 14-4 in the third quarter.

Lawrence had an obvious size advantage with Anderson (6-foot-7) against Free State’s all-guard lineup, but FSHS owned a 35-28 edge on the boards.

“They did a really nice job of controlling the inside,” LHS coach Chris Davis said. “They made Tony less effective than we would have liked. When a couple of shots didn’t go, we got frustrated and lost confidence.”

Anderson was the only Lion with more than six points.

Morningstar’s 13 points were 5.3 less than his average, but four other Lions scored at least nine.

“It doesn’t matter,” Morningstar said of his stats. “I’m happy with the win. I’ll do anything to get a win, especially against these guys. It’s a rivalry game, and it’s a league game.”

After missing its first 10 shots, Free State shot 50 percent (24 of 48) the rest of the way. Reserve Damien Dillon added 11 points and five rebounds for FSHS. Pike had 10 points, and Green and Scott Heitshusen each added nine.

6Sports video: Free State boys prevail Photo Gallery: Boys – Free State vs. Lawrence 12-17-04

Free State is off until a Jan. 7 game at Shawnee Mission South, while LHS plays the same day at Leavenworth.

“It gives us motivation,” Anderson said of the loss. “We have to want it deep down. We can’t get our heads down. We have to work even harder for the next time we see them.”