Lengthy run turns back Lawrence boys hoops, 50-39

Lawrence High's Anthony Buffalomeat looks to pass while Highland Park's O'Shasi Clark defends on Friday at the Topeka Invitational Tournament.

Lawrence High boys basketball

• Schedule

• News

Topeka ? For Lawrence High boys basketball coach Mike Lewis, stopping runs is about maturity.

So the fact that his team was on the wrong end of a 25-1 run on Friday shows him that his players need to grow up.

“We get a little panicked and we get a little pouty, and we need to just stick our chest out and compete when things aren’t going well,” Lewis said.

LHS lost to Highland Park in the second round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament, 50-39. The Lions were outscored, 13-0, in the second quarter and trailed by 17 at halftime.

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary in the first quarter. The Lions were generating open looks and hitting some shots.

But in the second quarter, the shots simply did not fall. Lewis said his team was shook up by the long scoring drought.

“We’ve got to learn a way to put the ball in the basket when things aren’t going well,” Lewis said.

Lewis was impressed with how the Lions bounced back after halftime, winning the second half by six points. In order to pressure the Scots (8-2), Lewis used a five-guard lineup.

The Lions (3-8) fought back to make it an 11-point game late, but the hole was just too deep to overcome.

“We could have curled up and went away, but we competed in the second half,” Lewis said. “We made it a good basketball game.”

Junior KJ Pritchard hit five three-pointers for the second game in a row, finishing with 21 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Junior Logan Henrichs had 13 points, but no other Lion had more than two.

LHS tried several different lineup combinations, including seldom-used freshman Bryce Montes de Oca for an extended stretch. Lewis said he will continue to tinker with his lineup, searching for a solid rotation.

It’ll be a quick turnaround for LHS, which plays Topeka West (1-8) in the seventh-place game at noon today. In order to motivate his kids, Lewis just reminds them that they are lucky to get the chance to play high school basketball in the first place.

Though Topeka West has just one win, Lewis knows that teams at the 6A level aren’t just going to back down.

“We’ll have to work for anything we get,” Lewis said.

Box score

Highland Park 50, Lawrence 39

LAWRENCE (39)

KJ Pritchard 7-14 2-7 21, Shane Willoughby 0-2 1-2 1, Anthony Buffalomeat 0-2 0-0 0, Logan Henrichs 5-11 2-2 13, Jake Johnson 0-3 0-1 0, Brad Strauss 0-2 0-0 0, Derby Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Ross Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Montes de Oca 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Mosiman 0-0 2-2 2, Troy Willoughby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 7-14 39.

HIGHLAND PARK (50)

Tra’vell Luarks 2-8 2-2 7, A.J. Downing 5-10 2-5 12, Shaka Thomas 1-2 0-0 3, Jeremiah Brooks 5-6 4-4 14, O’Shai Clark 2-4 0-0 4, Tre Wheeler 0-2 4-6 4, Eric Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Shaffee Carr 1-3 0-0 2, Taron Lately 0-0 0-0 0, D’Marco Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Steffon Kyles 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-40 12-17 50.

Lawrence 9 0 12 18 — 39

Highland Park 13 13 13 11 — 50

Three-point goals: Lawrence 6-17 (Pritchard 5, Henrichs); Highland Park 1-6 (Luarks). Fouled out: Lawrence — Buffalomeat. Shooting: Lawrence 13-41 (31.7 percent); Highland Park 18-40 (45 percent). Turnovers: Lawrence 18, Highland Park 13.