Lawrence Lions John Schneider, right of center, puts up a shot late in the second-half of an LHS road game at Washburn Rural Friday, Nov. 30, 2007.

Topeka ? Lawrence High point guard Dorian Green was having a rough start to his team’s season-opening game against Washburn Rural on Friday night. The junior committed three early turnovers and then missed an open breakaway layup with the Lions clinging to a small lead in the second quarter.

When given another opportunity on a breakaway attempt minutes later, he made certain he didn’t miss. Green stole a pass at midcourt and soared above the rim to slam home an emphatic one-handed dunk. The two points helped keep LHS in front early en route to a closely contested 44-39 victory.

“I was a little anxious at the beginning of the game, and I had a couple of turnovers,” Green said. “My defense kind of created my offense, got everybody a little pumped up and created a lot of intensity.”

And he wasn’t done yet.

Green stole another pass with three minutes remaining and the Lions up by three in the fourth quarter, racing in for a second one-handed flush. In all, the 6-foot-1 guard tallied six steals to go with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“He told us he was going to dunk,” said Lions forward Jayce Eubanks, who finished with six points and eight rebounds, “but I didn’t think it was going to be like that. It was just amazing.”

LHS head coach Chris Davis said it was only a matter of time before Green settled down.

“I just think everybody knew coming into the season, he was going to be one of the guys we look to,” Davis said of Green. “Part of that is learning to relax a little bit and play. Early on, he was trying to do a little too much. Once he got in a rhythm, he played the way we know he can play.”

The Lions trailed only once throughout, and that came at the very beginning. Washburn Rural guard Justin Werner – who led all scorers with 19 points – buried a 3-pointer to give the Junior Blues a 3-0 advantage. LHS took a 4-3 lead on Lance Kilburn’s layup and never trailed again, although Werner kept the game close. With the Lions playing a 2-3 zone throughout, Werner made five shots from beyond the arc, including a 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining that trimmed the score to 40-39.

But Green coolly swished two free throws on the ensuing possession and then tipped a pass off a Junior Blues player in the waning seconds to help preserve the win.