Overland Park ? For the better part of three quarters Tuesday night at Shawnee Mission North High, guard Michael Weathers and his teammates punished visiting Lawrence High off the dribble and scored easy points by drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line.

The simple formula had the Indians, ranked No. 6 in Class 6A, poised for an upset of the No. 2 Lions.

That is, until LHS guards Justin Roberts and Anthony Bonner followed their talented foe’s lead in the fourth quarter to win, 70-66.

Weathers, an athletic slasher, had taken 10 free throws and made all of them in the first three quarters, helping SMN to a 46-44 lead entering the fourth.

But after Roberts busted out of a shooting slump and knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to open the fourth, he and Bonner went on the attack, combining to hit 13 of 15 free throws in the final 5:40.

In a tight game on the road — Lawrence (16-1) trailed entering the final two minutes — the Lions went 16-for-20 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and made 14 of their final 16.

“It felt good, especially in those last few minutes,” said Bonner, a perfect 7-for-7 on the night. “Coach (Mike Lewis) just told us to drive it, and that’s what we did. That’s kind of the story of high school basketball, especially in Kansas. You can drive and throw your body into them and get that foul, so that’s what we did, and it turned out well for us.”

Bonner, who picked up two fouls in the final minute of the third while guarding Weathers (game-high 27 points), had four personals entering the fourth and had to watch the first 3:18 from the bench.

He witnessed a Roberts takeover. The junior guard opened the fourth by hitting back-to-back three-pointers, forcing SMN out of what had been an effective 1-3-1 zone. Roberts went on to score 14 of his 25 points in the final eight minutes.

The 5-foot-9 point guard’s three-pointers to open the quarter came after he missed five of his first six tries from downtown.

“It was definitely a confidence-booster,” Roberts said, “but I’m just glad my teammates found me when I was open and didn’t give up on me when I wasn’t hitting shots in the first half. They kept trusting me.”

Lewis was pleased to see Roberts make critical plays on a night the Lions had played choppy at times and felt a little bit off.

“Justin inspired us in a number of ways,” Lewis said, “and we’re used to that if you think back to the games where Justin is just able to take things on himself and just go after teams. We relied on Justin to do that tonight.”

They needed something like that with Bonner, who had 17 points through three quarters (24 total), sidelined.

“The guys kept it up, kept playing well and kept the momentum going,” Bonner said of his time as a spectator. “At that point, I’ve just got to be a team player on the bench, and I was getting rowdy for them. Justin was hitting big shots. They carried it on. I was proud of them.”

Bonner converted a three-point play by drawing a foul on a baseline floater and gave LHS a 63-62 lead with 1:47 left. Immediately following the Lions regaining the lead, senior John Barbee (nine points) and Roberts came away with back-to-back steals. Then Roberts made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to seal the win at SMN (11-6).

Roberts missed one of two tries with 12 seconds left, giving LHS a precarious two-point lead. But he made up for it on defense by forcing Weathers into a missed jumper and sliding on the floor for a defensive rebound.

Said Lewis: “A good team finds a way to win when you’re not playing your best, and that’s what we did toward the end.”

Lawrence (70)

Justin Roberts 5-15 12-14 25, Price Morgan 2-4 4-8 8, Ben Rajewski 1-5 0-0 2, Anthony Bonner 7-12 7-7 24, John Barbee 3-6 3-6 9, Fred Brou 0-2 0-0 0, Logan Applegate 1-1 0-0 2, Anthony Harvey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 26-34 70.

SM North (66)

Cole Gibson 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Weathers 6-11 8-9 20, Torrence Allen 4-6 11 10, Brendan Henderson 0-2 3-4 3, Michael Weathers 8-17 10-11 27, Will Schneider 2-3 2-2 6, Nick Perez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-41 24-27 66.

Lawrence 16 15 13 26 — 70

SM North 17 19 10 20 — 66

Three-point goals: LHS 6-17 (Roberts 3, Bonner 3); SMN 2-6 (Michael Weathers, Allen). Turnovers: LHS 8, SMN 13.