Less than an hour before his team took the court, Lawrence High senior Chance Riley sat in the stands, chowing down on a triple-patty cheeseburger.

“We have a superstition,” Riley said. “However many patties I eat is how many threes I’m going to make.”

Riley connected on three three-point shots as part of his 22 points to lead the Lions to a 77-51 home victory against Olathe East on Friday night.

Riley wasn’t the only Lions player with a hot hand. Nick Wagner had 18 points, including three three-pointers during the first quarter.

During that period, senior Daniel Green turned to the scorer’s table and screamed, “We’re on fire.”

The Lions’ proficiency, however, extended beyond their marksmanship. They delivered deft passes, helped on defense and crashed the boards.

“It was the best team game we’ve played all year long,” LHS coach Chris Davis said. “Everyone contributed.”

Eight players scored, and Riley, Wagner, Green (13 points) and John Schneider (12) scored in double figures.

Early on the game resembled a track meet. The run-and-gun style forced a faster tempo than LHS prefers, but the Lions still led, 20-18, after the first quarter.

“It was not really the pace of the game that I thought would favor us,” Davis said. “But we did OK with it. We held our own, and we did a pretty good job getting the ball inside.”

Having not played since last Friday’s 67-63 loss to Kansas City (Mo.) Hogan Prep, the Lions (8-5) seemed to be riding a week’s worth of pent-up enthusiasm.

“We had high energy coming into this game,” Riley said. “We were excited. It was a great week of practices.”

Lawrence High girls 67, Olathe East girls 49

Knowing her team would need to hit its three-point shots against Olathe East’s zone defense, LHS coach Kristin Mallory had her girls meet one hour before Friday’s game for extra shooting work.

Senior Hannah Somers showed up 15 minutes before that designated time, and the practice showed.

“I just felt it tonight,” Somers said.

Somers hit four three-pointers to notch a career-high 14 points and propel the Lions to a 67-49 victory.

Sophomore Taylor Bird, who led the team with 15 points, set the tone by nailing a three to begin the game. The team went on to hit nine three-pointers, including six in the first half.

Each Lions player seemed to have a hand in the drubbing. Tania Jackson, who scored seven points, left her defender gripping air with a spin move for a layup during the third quarter. With 4:35 left in the game, Taylor Bird followed a layup by stealing a pass and driving the length of the floor for another score. Less than two minutes later, Katelyn Hobbs emphatically rejected a shot, causing the Lions’ bench to erupt.

“We had some great highlights,” Mallory said. “Each of them really stepped up and did something.”

The Lions (10-4) are peaking. Coming off its championship in the Capital City Classic, LHS has won six in a row.

Friday’s win may have served as their most impressive of the season, defeating an 8-4 East squad that features Morgan Boyd, who scored 19 points and will play at Arkansas next year.

“It was a great offensive performance,” Mallory said. “We shared the ball as well as I’ve seen us this year.”

East’s Paige Gibson did manage a buzzer-beating three to close the first half. But she could not match Somers’ production from behind the arc.

The LHS three-point specialist hosted the team dinner Thursday night, and perhaps that trend should continue.

“Hannah needs to eat more chicken fajitas that her Mom (prepares),” Mallory said.