Topeka ? With the outcome of the boys basketball game hanging in the balance, Lawrence High coach Chris Davis delivered a message to his team during halftime.

“Run the court,” he said.

By pushing the tempo, LHS toppled Topeka Seaman, 70-62, in Thursday night’s opening round game of the Topeka Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Heeding Davis’ advice, the Lions exploded for 28 points in the third quarter to build a 53-26 lead, which they would not surrender. Although LHS plays more deliberately and pounds the ball into the paint more than in years past, the team still favors a fast pace.

“It gets us tired,” senior Chance Riley said. “But it definitely plays to our advantage.”

In the early going, Seaman, the tournament’s host school, forced a slow tempo by implementing a trapping defense, which sagged into a zone past half court. To prepare for that different look, the LHS offense went against as many as seven defensive players during practice.

“We were ready for it,” senior Nick Wagner said.

The Lions attacked that scheme effectively in the second quarter, but several shots right around the basket could not fall for them, and the Lions scored just 10 points during that stanza.

“We actually played pretty well in the second quarter,” Davis said. “Shots just didn’t go down.”

With the triumvirate of Daniel Green, Dorian Green and Jace McNabb handling the ball, LHS (6-3) committed only eight turnovers. To attack the zone, the Lions drove or fed the post before kicking the ball out to perimeter shooters.

“We swung the ball really well,” Wagner said. “We handled the pressure they gave us.”

With the high-low game in effect, Wagner, who scored 10 points and nailed three three-point shots, benefited from the attention given to the Lions’ post players. After the game, the senior iced his thumb, which he originally sprained early in the season. But the injury didn’t affect his sharp shooting.

“I’ve been struggling with it most of the season,” he said. “I (re-aggravate) it all the time in practice and probably in every game we’ve had since.”

Riley led all scorers with 19 points – a career-high – and sank all five of his free throws.

“I just got a lot more looks underneath,” Riley said. “We ran the corners really well, and we spread the defense out on the fast break.”

Note the use of the word “we.” The Lions’ team game fell apart during their Jan. 9, 53-33 loss to Shawnee Mission East, but nine players scored Thursday, and each helped out defensively.

“I’m pretty happy with the way we executed,” Davis said. “Today was a more of a team game than we’ve put together in a while. We really played together well. There were lots of positives. I felt like the guys really put their hearts out there.”

The road, however, will only become tougher for the Lions. LHS will face the winner of the Highland Park-Wichita Northwest game at 8:30 tonight. Northwest entered the game with only a 2-7 record but won the 6A state title last year, and Highland Park, considered one of the best teams in state this year, entered Thursday’s contest 7-0 .

“The winner’s bracket here is pretty unbelievable,” Davis said. “We’ve just got to kind of pin our ears back and play with all the intensity we can because – wow – it’s going to be some great basketball.”