Lawrence High's John Schneider (50) unleashes a jumper over Olathe Northwest's Raymond Jarrett (21). Schneider scored 24 points in the Lions' 72-64 victory Friday at LHS.

They came expecting a basketball game, but got a three-point contest instead.

Friday night, in the Lawrence High gymnasium, the LHS boys and visiting Olathe Northwest Ravens combined for 19 three-pointers in a 72-64 Lions’ victory.

Northwest finished the night a whopping 12-of-24 from three-point land. Lawrence High shot a more efficient 7-of-13 from behind the arc. But in the end, a player who didn’t attempt a single three-pointer made the difference.

LHS senior John Schneider used his 6-foot-7 frame and blatant height advantage over the Ravens to shoot 11-of-16 from the floor and lead LHS with 24 points.

“John is very unselfish,” LHS coach Chris Davis said. “Sometimes too unselfish. We need him to score for us, and tonight he really stepped up and was terrific.”

Schneider’s big night paced the Lions, who delivered the kind of balanced, inside-out performance that they believe is key to their success.

Guards Bobby Davis (11 points) and Dorian Green (12) each knocked down shots from behind the three-point line. Lance Kilburn (8) and Preston Scheibler (7) each buried a three as well.

“Our guards always have that mentality to shoot the ball,” Schneider said. “And that’s what makes us so dangerous. But tonight, coach told me and Baba (Diallo) that even if we were triple-teamed, we needed to find a way to get to the basket.”

Diallo was less effective than Schneider on the stat sheet, but not on the floor. Although he shot just 4-of-10 from the field, the 6-6 forward got his hands on several offensive rebounds and finished the night by hitting four of his final six shots. Diallo and Schneider each showcased his ability to step away from the paint and knock down jumpers, as well. That opened up the middle even more, but neither drifted beyond the three-point line.

LHS jumped out early and led 14-10 after the first quarter. Behind a nine-point second quarter from Schneider, the Lions increased that lead to 36-23 at halftime.

In the second half, Olathe Northwest began to light it up from the outside. The Ravens shot 7-of-14 from three-point land in the final two quarters, and senior Raymond Jarrett scored 18 of his game-high 30 points after the break.

At times, it appeared as if the Ravens couldn’t miss from the outside. But each time they strung together a couple of treys, LHS answered on the other end in one way or another.

“I thought we did an outstanding job of reacting to that and not letting it get to us,” Davis said. “We knew they were going to have to shoot the ball well from the outside to have a chance to beat us because we were superior inside. Even though they shot extremely well, we didn’t get frustrated and always seemed to answer on the other end, and that’s a credit to our entire team.”

The victory improved the Lions to 4-3 on the season. Next up, LHS will host Shawnee Mission East at 7 p.m. Tuesday.