O-South ends LHS boys’ season

? Lawrence High boys basketball coach Chris Davis can count on one hand the number of times he felt his team was flat-out beat during the 2005-06 season.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the final occurrence came when they least could afford to have it happen.

Hoping to sneak into the Class 6A state tournament as a No. 4 sub-state seed, LHS instead was no match for Olathe South on Saturday night, falling 60-33 to the top-seeded Falcons at Topeka High.

The victory puts Olathe South in this week’s eight-team state field in Emporia and ends the Lions’ hopes for a return trip following last season’s appearance.

“I just don’t know what to say. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” Davis said. “That’s exactly what happened today. It just didn’t go our way.

“This isn’t the way you want it to go down, but eventually only one team is going to be standing in the end.”

An inability to make things happen on either end of the floor conspired to make sure that team wouldn’t be the Lions (11-11).

Lawrence High players, from left, Nathan Hickey, Tyler Knight, Cameron Hershiser and Nathan Padia hang their heads late in their 60-33 loss to Olathe South. The Lions' season ended Saturday in Topeka.

Using a disciplined, balanced offensive attack, Olathe South shot well over 50 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, drilled a pair of three-pointers and quickly secured a double-digit lead that stood the remainder of the contest.

However, even more impressive than the Falcons’ opening salvo was their ability to keep LHS from matching it. Using an aggressive 1-1-3 zone extended sideline to sideline, they never allowed the Lions to get comfortable, and it showed in the halftime box score.

LHS managed to convert just three of 20 shots before the break, was 0-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc and turned the ball over 11 times. Add it up, and the end result was a discouraging 33-8 halftime deficit.

“We even took decent shots. They just didn’t go down,” Davis said. “We got ’em from the guys we wanted to get them from. How many times did the ball go in the basket and bounce around inside the rim and didn’t go down?”

While the Lions picked things up over the final 16 minutes, they still never lived up to their fun ‘n’ gun reputation. Take away a lay-up and two free throws inside the final 45 seconds, and they wouldn’t even have reached the 30-point barrier.

Lawrence High's Nathan Padia, left, eludes Olathe South's A.J. Sidhu during the first half. The Falcons routed the Lions, 60-33, in their sub-state championship Saturday in Topeka.

“That’s probably the worst offensive showing I’ve ever seen personally,” said LHS point guard Kristian Pope. “They said the lid was going to come off, but obviously it didn’t come off the whole game.”

As a result, LHS had no one reach double figures, with senior reserve Nathan Padia tallying a team-high seven points. In fact, the Lions’ three top scorers all came off the bench, as Davis’ starting lineup combined for just 16 points.

Conversely, Olathe South (19-3) added to its reputation as a team devoid of stars but blessed with balance. Four Falcons scored at least nine points, with A.J. Sidhu tossing in a game-high 14.

“What we do night after night is, we defend, we rebound pretty good, and we pass the ball pretty well,” Olathe South coach John McFall said. “If you do that, good things are going to happen.”

Davis sees no reason for the Falcons’ positive results to end any time soon.

Lawrence High head coach Chris Davis has a word with players Tyron Mumford, Matt Duncan and John Novotny during the second half.

“I think they play as good of team basketball as any team I’ve seen in a long time. They’re very well rounded, and they don’t lean on one player too hard,” Davis said. “They’ve got about seven kids, and they move one in, move one out and you can’t even tell.

“I’d be surprised if they don’t win the (state) tournament or finish very close.”

As for his own squad, Davis’ immediate memory is of a ballclub that persevered through some rough stretches and, more often than not, found itself in a position to take care of business.

“Fifteen of the games we played very competitively and pretty well. I’m pretty proud of that,” Davis said. “There was some adversity throughout the season, and I think the kids’ spirit throughout was pretty good.”