Lions overcome deficit, prevail 62-50

Kobe Buffalomeat (50) and the rest of the Lions bench celebrate a three-point basket late in the fourth quarter as Lawrence High went against Grandview in the first round of the Blue Valley Shootout Tuesday night in Stilwell.

? There’s just something about crunch time that brings out the best in Lawrence High senior point guard Justin Roberts.

When Lawrence’s boys basketball team needs a boost, Roberts has found a way to deliver time after time during his four-year career. Tuesday was no different when he scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Lions to a 62-50 victory over Grandview (Missouri) in the first round of the Blue Valley Shootout at Blue Valley High.

In the fourth quarter, Roberts opened with a four-point play, hit all three free throws after being fouled on another three-point attempt, banked in a short jump shot, and drilled a triple from the top of the arc for a 52-45 lead with four minutes left. He added a steal and assisted on a layup-and-the-foul bucket by senior forward Fred Brou.

“He’s a bulldog,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said of Roberts. “He wants the ball in his hands. Our team knows how to work together and get him the basketball, and he knows how to distribute when needed. He was the aggressor and it was his time to shine.”

Roberts has a knack for drawing fouls — “For the most part, I’m not really exaggerating. They are just coming into me,” he said — but he wasn’t shooting well until the final period. Roberts scored 11 points in the first three quarters on 3-of-12 shooting.

But in the fourth quarter, he drilled shot after shot.

“My teammates were just getting me open,” said Roberts, who scored a game-high 25 points. “They were setting great screens so I was able to get on the wing and knock down some threes, finally. … I knew I just had to keep doing what I was doing, and know that it was going to fall sooner or later.”

The Lions (2-0) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but they scored on five of their last six possessions to cut their deficit to three points following a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Roberts before halftime. Brou added a putback and junior guard Jackson Mallory added two free throws in an 8-0 run over the final two minutes.

“We were executing but our shots weren’t really falling,” Brou said. “Anytime you are down, you can try to play through the adversity or crumble under it, and I thought we did a good job of handling it.”

In the first quarter, the Bulldogs (0-2) made their first four shots and frustrated the Lions with their ability to slash into the paint and grab offensive rebounds. Junior guard Tyreese Davis scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Looking to stop Grandview’s drives to the rim, the Lions switched to a 2-3 zone defense. It forced the Bulldogs to settle for long-range jumpers and limited ball movement. Brou took advantage by jumping passing lanes, and he snagged five steals.

“We just decided it might be something good to pull out of our back pocket,” Lewis said of the zone defense. “We didn’t expect to play it quite as long, but we thought it was the call for the night.”

Brou finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Price Morgan added 10 points and three assists.

The Lions will face Topeka Highland Park (1-0) at 6:45 p.m. Thursday in the tournament semifinals.

LAWRENCE (62)

Justin Roberts 6-16 10-13 25, Price Morgan 4-5 2-8 10, Fred Brou 4-8 4-5 12, Anthony Harvey 2-6 2-2 7, Jackson Mallory 2-3 3-4 8, Braden Solko 0-0 0-0 0, Kobe Buffalomeat 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-39 21-32 62.

GRANDVIEW (50)

Tremaine Banks 2-6 0-0 4, Darrius Walker 2-5 0-1 4, Mason Taylor 1-3 0-0 3, Tyreese Davis 8-14 6-9 24, Michael Nweke 1-2 2-2 4, Malik Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Sheldon Stevens 2-6 0-1 4, Jordan Lathon 1-3 0-0 3, Cartez Crook-Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Javon Long 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 19-43 8-13 50.

Lawrence 7 17 12 24 — 62

Grandview 15 12 9 14 — 50

Three-point goals: Lawrence 5-13 (Roberts 3, Harvey, Mallory); Grandview 4-16 (Davis 2, Taylor, Lathon). Turnovers: Lawrence 10, Grandview 15.