Topeka ? Call him Mr. Clutch.

Lawrence High senior Nathan Padia, whose last-second free throw beat Free State High earlier in the year, hit a layup Saturday afternoon to give Lawrence a 64-63 victory against Topeka High during the third-place game in the Topeka Invitational Tournament.

“When he reacts to what is going on in the game,” LHS coach Chris Davis said, “(Padia) is a tremendous basketball player.”

Topeka’s Justin Griffiths sank a jump shot with 25 seconds left to give the Trojans a two-point lead. Padia then drove the lane and drew a blocking foul to earn two free throws. But the senior nearly became the goat, clanging the rim on his first attempt.

“I’d have liked it if he made that first free throw,” said a grinning Davis.

Padia, though, redeemed himself. He hit his second free throw. LHS senior Daniel Green then stole the inbound pass and fed Padia, who scored the game-winning points and secured his legacy for late-game theatrics.

“It’s real memorable,” Padia said. “To hit two game-winners is pretty nice, especially against such tough competition.”

The second half featured nine ties, and the evenly played game seemed headed for a climactic finish.

“We have a good history with this school,” Davis said. “It’s been really good basketball games in the past.”

Despite the teams’ history against each other, the Trojans nearly ran the Lions out of the gym early. Dillon Hazlett sank two three-pointers, and A.J. Barber sank one as Topeka began the game on an 11-2 run.

“We didn’t come to play,” said John Schneider, who had 11 points. “But they were hitting their shots.”

The start to the game also led one to wonder if the Lions had tired legs and less focus. Eighteen hours after an intense loss to Topeka Highland Park, LHS played in a half-empty Topeka Seaman gym while snow fell outside during the Saturday matinee.

But the Lions rallied late in the first quarter by forcing several turnovers through their zone defense, and closed the gap to 18-17 by the end of the stanza. Enduring that initial onslaught allowed LHS (7-4) to earn one of its best victories of the season.

“They are a very good team,” Davis said. “It’s a nice quality win for us.”

Topeka (8-3) averages more than 80 points. To combat the Trojans’ quickness and fast tempo, the Lions used a zone defense except on the final defensive play when Green snagged his steal.

“We needed to do something to slow them down,” Davis said.

Another tweak involved the starting lineup. After Padia arrived late to the bus, Davis benched him and started two big post players, Schneider and John Novotny, instead.

Padia, ironically, made his late-game heroics in the only game he did not.

Chance Riley did start, and for good reason. After scoring 19 and 17 points in his first two tournament games, the senior continued his stellar play and led the Lions with 15 points.

That performance completed a strong tournament showing for both Riley and LHS. The Lions defeated Seaman, 70-62, Thursday night, and lost to Highland Park, 70-52, Friday. As a result, Saturday’s game culminated with each LHS player wearing a yellow, third-place medal around his neck and carrying high hopes for the rest of the season.

“We took real steps this week,” Davis said. “We’re a better basketball team than we were on Thursday.”