Lions stand tall

LHS frontcourt dominates in win

Lawrence High's James Easter pulls down a rebound. The Lions beat Kansas City (Mo.) Pembroke Hill, 43-30, Thursday at Blue Valley High.

Lawrence High junior Dorian Green, right, drives to the hoop Thursday, December 6, 2007, while being guarded by Pembroke Hill senior Will Wurster during the Boys' Basketball Blue Valley Shootout at Blue Valley High School. LHS won, 43-30.

? When he sneaked a peak across the gym during pregame layup lines on Thursday, Lawrence High center John Schneider noticed something about the Pembroke Hill boys basketball team.

“We went out in warmups and their tallest guy was only about 6-3,” Schneider said.

Actually, there was a 6-foot-4 player out there for the Raiders, but when you’re 6-7 like Schneider, everyone must seem shorter.

Thanks to Schneider and 6-foot-6 senior Baba Diallo – along with some timely shooting from their guards – the Lions pulled away from Kansas City (Mo.) Pembroke Hill, 43-30, in the first round of the Blue Valley Shootout at Blue Valley High School. Schneider and Diallo combined for 23 of the Lions’ 43 points.

“We looked over and said ‘our strength is going to be going inside,'” Diallo said. “The guards did a really good job of getting us the ball. Once we got it, we knew our job was to finish in the paint, and that’s what we did.”

Trailing by three points after one quarter of play, LHS made a concerted effort to pass Schneider and Diallo the ball inside the Raiders’ sagging 2-3 zone. Schneider’s layup and free throw at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter started a run of 17 straight points that occurred on layups or short jumpers for LHS.

“Right away against their zone, we got two baskets: bang, bang,” Lions head coach Chris Davis said. “It was really good.”

Diallo’s soft jumper from the right block put Lawrence in front 12-10 in the second quarter, giving the Lions the lead for good.

And when Pembroke Hill tried double-teaming the LHS big men and making a run of its own in the third quarter, the LHS guards were there to respond.

Holding a slim 22-21 cushion, Lance Kilburn hit two threes and Bobby Davis one for LHS to push the margin into double figures, where it would stay. Both Kilburn and Davis scored six points apiece.

Schneider said knowing his team’s guards could strike at any time helped his own game out on the court.

“It doesn’t get you frustrated because you know you can kick it out,” Schneider said. “When big men don’t start hitting, sometimes they have a tendency to want to force it. But we have guards that can knock shots down, and we have faith in them.”

Said Diallo, “Once our guards get hot, they go. It’s tough to guard four or five guys who can shoot. Once you do, we’ve got two big guys inside.”

Schneider finished with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Diallo had eight points. In all, seven players got in the scoring column for the Lions, while the Raiders had just three players score all of their points, led by Tyler Murray’s 15. LHS improved to 2-0 and will take on K.C. Sumner in the second round of the Blue Valley Shootout at 6:45 p.m. today. The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game.

Davis said he was happy his guards and post players had been able to compliment one another in the early going.

“I do feel like we’re a pretty well-rounded team,” he said. “We’ve got guards on the perimeter that can shoot, and we’ve got some pretty good post players.

“I’m very pleased with things, and I think we’re going to keep getting better as we go.”