Emporia ? Christian Ballard didn’t score a single point in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Class 6A state basketball tournament game against Shawnee Mission West.

Fortunately for Free State High, the senior center still had 24 minutes to help the Firebirds make school history.

Ballard turned in a dominating 20-point performance in Free State’s 53-35 victory against SM West in White Auditorium.

With the upset against the top-seeded Vikings, the eighth-seeded Firebirds captured their first state playoff victory in the school’s 10-year history and will face Blue Valley West in a semifinal at 8:15 p.m. Friday.

Two years ago at state, SM West held the No. 8 seed and defeated the No. 1 Firebirds. What made Wednesday night’s victory even sweeter was SM West had knocked Free State out of the state football playoffs three years in a row.

“I’m just happy I can go to college and know that I actually beat this team,” Ballard, also a tight end and defensive end for the football team, said. “They’re a great team. But I just wanted this one so badly. It was unbearable to know we’ve lost to them in everything.”

SM West (18-5) surprisingly opened the game in a zone defense. Free State (12-11) had seen a zone defense only once this season, against Manhattan. Ballard didn’t get close looks. In an attempt to change up its defense, SM West switched to man-to-man for the rest of the game after the first quarter.

Ballard consequently fell into an offensive rhythm, single-handedly outscoring the Vikings, 10-2, in the second quarter. He also was active defensively, pulling down nine rebounds.

“He was the best player on the court again tonight,” Free State coach Chuck Law said of Ballard.

It was evident Ballard’s teammates made it a priority to feed him the ball. On one instance in the third quarter, Nick Devin noticed his defender reaching for a steal and missing. It created an open path for the senior guard toward the basket. Devin had a relatively clear lane for a short jumper, but noticed Ballard’s defender stepping toward him. Devin alertly lobbed the ball to an open Ballard for the layup.

Most of the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Ballard’s buckets came from overpowering SM West defenders near the basket. Ballard displayed flashes of range, though, pulling up for a 15-foot jumper in the second quarter on a play where he trailed near the top of the key.

“They double-teamed me a lot,” Ballard said. “I knew it was coming. They would come from the back side, so I really wanted to get to the middle of the court so I could make some easy shots.”

SM West trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter and committed too many fouls to catch up. The Vikings had 25 fouls, compared to Free State’s 13. As a result, Free State frequently visited the charity stripe. Senior guard Kyle Schreiner kept the game out of reach, going 8-of-8 from the line and accounting for 15 points.

After the game, Schreiner called it the most memorable victory of his basketball career.

“There are a lot of other games that could compare to it, but this is my senior year,” Schreiner said. “This would probably have to take my number-one spot.”

Free State simply played smart basketball. For instance, Devin had a 2-on-1 fast break opportunity with 3:15 remaining in the game. However, with the Firebirds already up 43-33, Devin pulled the ball out and burned more time off the clock. Free State ran 35 more seconds off the clock before Law called a timeout.

Despite the history-making victory, it appeared Law was focused on unfinished business in Emporia.

“This was a fantastic win for our kids,” Law said. “We came down here to do more than just be satisfied with getting here. We’re going to enjoy this for about 12 hours, then go back to work tomorrow.”

Free State will face No. 5 Blue Valley West in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Friday in White Auditorium. Blue Valley West defeated No. 4 Topeka High on Wednesday night.

“Shawnee Mission West showed a lot of class. It meant a lot to us,” Ballard said. “I definitely think that we can make a great run to the state title.”