As Antoine Branch drove to the basket, no one thought he would pass the ball.

Precious seconds quickly ran off the clock, and the Leavenworth High senior had to make a decision. With exactly one second left, Branch had an open look – surely he’d shoot.

He elevated in shooting form, but somehow had the presence of mind to find a wide-open Colin O’Neill near the basket. O’Neill finished the uncontested layup with roughly 0.6 seconds remaining to hand Free State a 61-59 loss Friday night at the Firebirds’ gym.

“The defense was there,” Free State coach Chuck Law said. “We defended really well, but he just did a great job to split the double team and found the guy on the backside.”

The loss was tough to swallow for Free State (8-8), which lost by two at home Tuesday against Shawnee Mission Northwest. Of their eight losses, the Firebirds have lost six by a combined 11 points.

“We have to get in a situation, I guess, to where we have the ball,” Law said about the end of games. “A couple of key rebounds and a couple of extra loose balls through the course of the game, and maybe they’re tying up the game at 59-all. Maybe we have it for the chance to win, as opposed to trying to stop a very good offensive team from scoring on the last play of the game.”

The game felt like a roller-coaster ride in the second half. After being down seven at intermission, Free State opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Leavenworth (11-3) responded with a run of its own and held a five-point lead with a minute left in the game.

Junior guard Anthony Russell hit a crucial three-pointer to cut the lead to two. After forcing a Leavenworth turnover on the next possession, senior Kyle Schreiner hit a jumper from the left corner to tie the game at 59. Branch and O’Neill then won the game in the last second.

Schreiner had his best scoring game of the season with 20 points.

“I’ve always been told it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t get the win,” Schreiner said. “Those two points at the end really hurt us, so the loss overshadows everything.”

Senior center Christian Ballard contributed 14.

“Our luck is going to come sooner or later,” Ballard said. “When it does, I think it will be at the right time.”

On the final play, Ballard said he anticipated Branch shooting the ball.

“It was a great play on his part,” Ballard said. “I’m probably going to lose sleep tonight.”

Free State girls 47, Leavenworth 39

Before Friday night’s game, Kelsey Harrison wasn’t sure she’d play.

“All week I’ve had really bad sinuses,” the senior forward said. “Then last night, I had a really bad migraine, and it was to the point where even part of my right eye on the side was a little blurry.”

Harrison didn’t practice Thursday, but didn’t show any ill effects on the court against Leavenworth (3-11). She scored eight points, pulled down 10 boards and dished five assists.

“She’s a very good rebounder to begin with, and she’s an excellent defender,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said. “She really seemed be the only player on our team who was really attacking the ball tonight on the boards.”

Leavenworth was quick, but didn’t play at a pace Free State hadn’t already seen this season. The Pioneers made it close early and headed into halftime with the game tied at 19. Free State (11-5) essentially sealed the game with a 17-8 third-quarter advantage.

Senior guard Lauren Kimball led all scores with 13. On two occasions, Kimball scored a bucket while drawing a foul. On both occasions, she converted the free throw.

“The first time, I didn’t even see the girl, actually,” Kimball said. “I just went up for the jump shot, and she hit me. The second time was on a fast break, and Kelsey passed it to me. I guess the girl got caught off balance and then she swung. I happened to be ahead of her, so I got that one, too.”

Free State has won four in a row.