Lawrence High School athlete Trey Quartlebaum (2) a member of the Kansas Cagers and one of 5 LHS players on the team competes in action Thursday during the Sunflower Showcase at the Sports Pavilion Lawrence.

The first day of the Sunflower Showcase youth baketball tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence was an eventful one for a team with plenty of local ties.

The Kansas Cagers 15-and-under squad, which included Lawrence High’s Trey Quartlebaum, Jackson Hoy, Jacob Rajewski and Brett Chapple, came up on the losing end of one of the most thrilling games of the day, falling 60-58 to Pumas White in triple overtime.

The Cagers and Pumas White were deadlocked at 54 at the end of regulation, and despite both defenses locking down as the game went on, Chapple admitted he began to feel fatigued in the later stages of the opening contest.

“Toward the end when it got into double overtime, it got really tiring,”Chapple said. “We had to fight for it.”

Chapple was the main Cager leading the fight late, with three steals, a bucket and an assist in the three, two-minute overtime periods. The Cagers’ power forward finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Lawrence High School athlete Jacob Rajewski (12) a member of the Kansas Cagers and one of 5 LHS players on the team competes in action Thursday during the Sunflower Showcase at the Sports Pavilion Lawrence.

Rajewski led the quartet of Cagers from LHS with 17 points, but struggled to find his shot, going 6-for-18 from the field and 3-for-10 from long range. Much like his brother Ben, an LHS graduate and member of the Lions’ 2015 state runner-up team, Jacob does not let a shooting slump affect his mind-set.

“Just know it’s going in,” Rajewski said. “Have confidence in your shot and just follow through.”

The confidence showed for Rajewski in the Cagers’ second game of the day.

The Cagers steamrolled Hoops Squad, 69-37, behind 14 points from Rajewski on 6-of-9 shooting and 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

The Cagers jumped on Hoops Squad early with an effective three-quarter-court press. Quartlebaum said it was important for the Cagers to not only win, but win big to put the Cagers in position for the rest of the tournament.

“Since we lost that game (to Pumas White), it’s about point spread, so we needed to beat every team by a certain amount of points,” Quartlebaum said.

The Cagers will play two more games today, the first starting at 10:15 a.m. against the Missouri Rain Makers and the second tipping off at 7 p.m. versus Nebraska Select Sullivan.

Hoy enjoyed playing in the local tournament today and said it has been convenient to compete so close to home.

“It’s really nice because we’ve had to go all over the place for tournaments,” Hoy said. “Playing at a place where I can drive five minutes and be here, that’s really great.”

KU target Reese helps SE Elite Alabama

Alex Reese, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward who lists Kansas University as one of many schools where he could play college hoops, scored 12 points in SE Elite Alabama 17-and-under’s 82-74 overtime win.

The Pelham High (Alabama) standout, ranked No. 49 overall by Rivals, has received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Murray State and Vanderbilt, but has had recent discussions with the KU coaching staff.

“I haven’t talked to them a lot,” Reese said of the Jayhawks, “but I texted coach (Norm) Roberts at Kansas last week. He texted me asking when we were playing. I don’t talk to him on a regular basis, but we’ve talked.”

Reese was one of three KU targets who were scheduled to play.

Wyatt Wilkes, a 6-8, 205-pound small forward from Winter Park High School (Florida), scored 11 points SE Elite Florida 16-and-under’s 75-68 loss to Southern Stampede. Wilkes is unranked by Rivals but has offers from Clemson, Rice, UAB, Central Florida and Virginia Tech, and has drawn interest from KU, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami and others.

6-foot-11 center Rodney Miller Jr. did not make the trip to Lawrence because of a hand injury.