Anthony Bonner celebrates during a timeout after Ben Rajewski (12) hit a three-pointer as the Lawrence boys played Olathe East Friday.

Olathe ? Lawrence High’s boys basketball players were out for revenge against Olathe East on Friday night.

The Lions lost to the Hawks in the sub-state title game last year, the same day they found out assistant coach Kermit Aldridge had died from cancer.

This year, the Lions played with a ton of energy and never slowed down in a 72-55 rout at Olathe East. It was their first win against the Hawks since February 2012.

“We were texting today, ‘We need to get this for coach (Aldridge),'” senior guard Anthony Bonner said. “Last time we were here, we lost. This is the biggest game yet so far, and we haven’t felt better.”

In the first half, Bonner and junior Justin Roberts provided most of the offense in fast-paced play. Roberts scored nine of his 20 points in the first quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, while Bonner missed his first shot then made his next five, including two threes. Bonner finished with a game-high 22 points.

But the Lions (10-0, ranked No. 2 in 6A) took it up a notch after taking a five-point lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Lions held the Hawks to just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. Meanwhile, senior guard Ben Rajewski drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, both assisted by Bonner, giving LHS a double-digit lead. Senior John Barbee, junior Anthony Harvey and Roberts also added layups.

“I thought maybe we had a little more fight in us,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “We continued to stick with our same strategy going into the second half, and I thought maybe we fought a little bit harder.”

The Lions never stepped off of the gas pedal. With less than two minutes remaining and a 15-point lead, junior forward Price Morgan caught the ball on the left baseline and charged toward the hoop. O-East’s 6-foot-8 forward Josiah Talbert went for the block, but it didn’t faze Morgan, who threw down a dunk that brought everyone on the LHS bench to their feet.

“I didn’t see him coming at first, and it was just a bang-bang play,” Morgan said. “I don’t know. I got swatted before, and I had a chance to put one down, so I figured it was time to get it in.”

Roberts added: “I didn’t think he was going to do it, but I’m really glad he did.”

The Hawks (6-3, ranked No. 3) kept up with the Lions for most of the first half with strong play from their forwards Talbert and junior Cedric Roland. The two combined for 37 points and nine rebounds but were kept away from the ball for long stretches in the third quarter when the Lions tightened their defense and tried to keep one player in front of them with a guard behind to swipe steals or force them to pass.

The Lions were without junior forward Fred Brou because of a concussion, and senior forward Logan Applegate played sick off of the bench.

But that just meant the rest of the Lions needed to help out in the paint. Barbee completed a double-double with 10 rebounds and 12 points, while Harvey snagged three rebounds. Morgan and Applegate combined for eight rebounds and made it difficult for Talbert and Roland to catch the ball in the post.

“You can go down the list of our team and say, ‘Man, he stepped up. He stepped up,'” Lewis said. “That’s the beauty of our basketball team: We have guys who are willing to step up and are capable each night.”

The Lions will return to the court to face Wichita Southeast in the first round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament at 5 p.m. Thursday.

LAWRENCE (72)

Justin Roberts 7-13 4-4 20, Price Morgan 3-7 0-0 6, Ben Rajewski 3-4 0-0 8, Anthony Bonner 7-11 6-6 22, John Barbee 3-9 6-8 12, Logan Applegate 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Harvey 2-4 0-0 4, Jackson Mallory 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-48 16-18 72.

OLATHE EAST (55)

Javion Blake 3-6 5-7 12, Dion Union 0-6 0-0 0, Cedric Roland 7-13 2-5 16, Cameron Hunter 0-4 1-2 1, Josiah Talbert 9-13 1-3 21, Jack Hiller 1-2 0-0 3, Kameron Barnes 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-46 9-17 55.

Lawrence 17 17 16 22 — 72

O-East 17 12 7 19 — 55

Three-point field goals: Lawrence 6-16 (Roberts 2, Bonner 2, Rajewski 2); O-East 4-12 (Talbert 2, Blake, Hiller). Turnovers: Lawrence 5, O-East 9.