Free State junior Hunter Gudde (30) goes for two points between KC East's Andreaus Sims (21) and Deshon Williams (35) during their game Friday evening at FSHS. Free State won, 65-21, and improved their record to 3-1 on the season.

Free State High boys basketball coach Chuck Law was hoping to see more energy out of his players during their first practices following winter break this week.

Law didn’t always get the level of effort he wanted, and some of that lackadaisical play spilled into Friday’s game against Kansas City (Missouri) East. It didn’t affect the outcome for the Firebirds, a 65-21 rout at FSHS, but it did lead to a long halftime talk.

“We weren’t ready to play,” senior guard Justin Narcomey said. “After the long break, we came out a little sloppy.”

In the first half, despite a 32-8 halftime lead, the Firebirds knew they weren’t playing their best. They missed numerous shots in the paint and didn’t communicate on the defensive end. Going through the motions was good enough for a victory, but it wasn’t good enough for Law to forget about it.

“I don’t understand not bringing energy and not communicating and not doing things to help your teammates out,” Law said. “Those are things that should be non-negotiable things that you do, no matter what score, time and situation are.”

To open the second half, FSHS seniors raised the level of intensity and sparked the offense. Senior point guard Andrew Keating drained a three after Narcomey snagged a steal. Senior Weston Hack grabbed plenty of boards and scored on a give-and-go with sophomore forward Jay Dineen. Their play helped the Firebirds go on a 17-4 run over seven minutes in the third quarter.

“We’ve just got to bring energy, and we know it,” said Keating, who scored seven points and had three rebounds. “It starts with us seniors, and we just have to communicate all of the time. I think we’re starting to get better with that, but we still have a lot of improvements to make on that end.”

Though it took a half for the Firebirds (3-1) to play with more passion, they had no problem shooting the ball from behind the three-point line throughout the game against East (0-5). Free State was only shooting 24 percent from behind the arc (11-for-46) entering Friday’s contest, but Narcomey drained two triples to open the game. Two minutes later, Hack followed with one of his own.

“We really think this is a good shooting team, and we have not displayed it very much in the first three games,” said Law, after the Firebirds shot 7-for-20 from deep.

Narcomey finished with a game-high 12 points, while Hack and Keating pitched in seven each.

The Firebirds will face Shawnee Mission East at 7 p.m. Tuesday at FSHS.

FREE STATE 65, K.C. (Mo.) EAST 21

FREE STATE (65)

Andrew Keating 3-5 0-1 7, Weston Hack 2-6 2-2 7, Justin Narcomey 4-9 0-0 12, Hunter Gudde 1-6 0-2 3, Jay Dineen 2-3 1-2 5, Zion Bowlin 1-1 2-3 4, Caleb Holland 2-5 1-2 5, Darian Lewis 1-4 2-2 4, Chrision Wilburn 4-4 0-0 8, Jacob Pavlyak 2-4 0-0 4, Shannon Cordes 3-6 0-1 6. Totals 25-53 8-15 65.

K.C. EAST (21)

Xanthanus Pierro 2-14 0-2 4, Dewayne Charles 1-12 2-4 4, Mike Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Andreaus Sims 2-8 1-2 6, Daron Hatcher 2-4 0-0 5, Aric Marks 0-2 0-0 0, Deshon Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Isaiah Wilson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 8-44 3-8 21.

KC East 2 6 10 3 — 21

Free State 16 16 19 14 — 65

Three-point goals: Free State 7-20 (Narcomey 4, Keating, Hack, Gudde); KC East 2-16 (Sims, Hatcher). Fouled out: Bowlin. Turnovers: Free State 8, KC East 14.