Sandwiched between a heavyweight victory against Leavenworth High and a contest versus crosstown rival Free State, Tuesday’s game against a Shawnee Mission North team that owned just one win served as the classic trap game for the Lawrence High boys basketball team.

And the Lions fell right in, losing, 58-53, on the Indians’ home floor and hurting their chances to claim at least a share of the Sunflower League title.

“We did not come out really inspired to begin the game,” LHS coach Chris Davis said. “A lack of focus early hurt us.”

SM North (2-18) won on its Senior Day, and fans rushed the court to mob the players at the center circle after the game.

For LHS (13-6), the problems began right out of the gate. The Indians jumped to a 14-5 start and a 21-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lions, who committed 17 turnovers overall, lost the ball on three straight possessions at one point in the initial stanza. Senior Nathan Padia committed three turnovers during that quarter as well.

“We just came out flat,” said Chance Riley, who led all scorers with 18 points.

SM North played more aggressively, outhustling the Lions for loose balls. The Indians also started the game on fire from the field.

“They hardly missed,” Davis said. “It was hard to recover from that.”

LHS planned to take advantage of a North team that does not have a player taller than 6-foot-4 by pounding the ball into 6-7 John Schneider and 6-5 Riley.

The Lions, however, settled for too many outside jumpers.

The underdog Indians led 41-33 at halftime and 49-38 with 3:36 left, and the margin could have become larger had they not shot 12-for-26 from the free-throw line.

“They really wanted the basketball game,” Davis said. “We wanted it. I just think they wanted it more.”

Lawrence High girls 53, Shawnee Mission North 38

With the junior varsity girls playing at 4 p.m. and their game not tipping off until 8, the varsity Lions had a lot of time to kill.

“I got sleepy,” LHS senior guard Hannah Somers said.

Somers, though, invigorated the Lions, scoring a game- and a career-high 18 points on the strength of seven field goals, including three three-point goals.

“She definitely stepped up and hit some shots,” LHS coach Kristin Mallory said.

With Somers’ proficiency from long range, she was perfectly suited for the 1-3-1 zone the Indians used against the Lions.

LHS (13-6) had not seen that defense this year, and that scheme helped account for the low-scoring first quarter, which the Lions led, 9-7.

LHS effectively employed a press defense that sagged into a 3-2 zone. The press helped speed up the tempo and forced SM North (5-14) into 16 turnovers.

That stout defense limited SM North to 14 first-half points and held the Indians scoreless for the first 31â2 minutes of the second quarter.

On the offensive side, seven LHS players scored, including Danielle Bird, who posted 13 points.

The Lions also finished an impressive 15-of-19 from the free-throw line compared to 2-of-10 for North.

“Our kids did a real nice job,” Mallory said.