Lawrence’s Dorian Green elevates for a bucket in this Feb. 13, 2009 file photo against SM West at LHS.

The last time Lawrence High’s boys basketball team played a game like the one they’ll play tonight, it was the Class 6A state championship game last March.

That thought is not lost on this year’s No. 3-seeded Lions (12-8), who will play host to Shawnee Mission West (9-11) at 7 tonight at LHS.

“I think last year’s experience has to help us,” LHS coach Chris Davis said. “We have confidence, we’ve been there and we play with an expectation of getting there again.”

To do so, the Lions will have to hold serve tonight and then knock off either No. 2 SM East or No. 7 SM North in the sub-state championship game on Friday.

The only thing on the minds of the Lions tonight, however, is SM West.

LHS defeated West, 53-38, earlier this season. But the victory didn’t come easily. The Vikings played multiple defenses against the Lions and focused their game plan on slowing the game down. It worked. Lawrence led, 17-15, at halftime but entered the locker room a bit panicked about the pace.

“We got so antsy when we had to sit there for a minute straight,” LHS senior Lance Kilburn said of guarding the Vikings’ slow and deliberate offense. “We just wanted to get out and get after them.”

Eventually, they did, as seniors Robbie Wright (three three-pointers) and Dorian Green (12 second-half points) pushed the Lions to a third-quarter lead that proved to be insurmountable.

The Lions are predicting a similar showing from the Vikings tonight.

“We’re definitely expecting it to be a repeat of last game as far as what they do,” Green said. “The biggest thing for us is just to stay focused and go after it.”

Said Davis: “We’ve prepared for having the kitchen sink thrown at us. And we’re ready.”

Offensively, the Lions would prefer to push the tempo and make the game a track meet. But, because the past three or four games were played at a slower pace, the Lions believe they’re capable of winning any style of game.

“We don’t care if the game’s in the 40s or in the 60s,” Davis said. “As long as we win.”

While much of the focus this week has been on the way the Vikings would defend the Lions, Davis said his team’s defense also would play a key part in the Lions’ run this postseason. That wasn’t always the case. Earlier this season, as the Lions worked in a new offense, they occasionally took their lumps defensively. But each step forward and any of the small steps back were taken with a grain of salt.

“The whole season has been played to get to this point,” Davis said. “It didn’t matter what happened back in November or December, we were always able to see the bigger picture.”

Now, Davis and the Lions are hoping — yet again — to put the finishing brushstrokes on another masterpiece. Their record paints them as one of the favorites this time, but, because of their big-picture vision, such a position can be viewed as abstract.

“Last year we were the underdogs and this year we’re the higher seed,” Green said. “It’s a different role but we still want to have that mindset of the underdog.”