Lawrence High players raise the sub-state first place plaque in celebration following their 60-45 victory over Shawnee Mission East in the sub-state championship game Friday night at LHS. The win propelled the Lions into the state tournament, which begins on Wednesday at Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State.

Lawrence High’s boys basketball players dreamed all offseason long about earning a trip to the Class 6A state tournament. On Friday night, they made it a reality.

The Lions, playing without leading scorer Anthony Bonner, never trailed and held off a second-half rally by Shawnee Mission East for a 60-45 sub-state championship victory at LHS. It’s the Lions’ first trip to the state tournament since taking second place in 2008.

Lawrence lost in the sub-state title game last year, on the same day former assistant coach Kermit Aldridge died of cancer, and the Lions were determined to win for the coach to whom they’ve dedicated their season.

“It’s pretty exciting,” senior guard Ben Rajewski said. “That was our goal. We were going to get there for coach Aldridge. We determined that before the season and followed through on that.”

The top-seeded Lions (21-1, ranked No. 2) led by four points entering the fourth quarter before they tightened up defensively and scored on their first three possessions. Senior forward Logan Applegate scored four straight points, and junior point guard Justin Roberts banked in a jump shot off of the glass.

A minute later, Applegate scored another basket on a layup-and-the-foul and flexed his biceps to his bench. Applegate scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the Lancers were forced into tough shots all night, shooting 26 percent from the floor (14-for-53). The Lions were focused on keeping the ball away from SM East’s top shooters, and didn’t allow many drives into the paint.

“We wanted our defense to lead us tonight,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “Without Anthony, there’s a little bit of offense that we have to make up for. I really believed that our defense would do it. You just stay solid and understand who your man is and what our philosophy is defensively. Our guys bought into it and just stayed solid.”

Without Bonner, who sat out because of a mild concussion but is expected to return for the state tournament next week, the Lions used the entire team to make up his average of 20 points per game. Roberts, who was constantly face-guarded, turned into a distributor for most of the first half, while senior guard John Barbee, junior Anthony Harvey and Rajewski drilled threes. Junior forwards Price Morgan and Fred Brou also found space inside for layups through traffic.

“There’s just no getting around it. We have guys ready to play ball,” Lewis said. “They know the game plan and they know when their number’s called, they’ve got to come in and be in the moment. It was just a good team effort, no doubt.”

Every time SM East (12-10) had a chance to grab momentum in the second half, the Lions always came up with an answer. Late in the third quarter, Barbee drove the ball and kicked out to Rajewski for a three-pointer to take a seven-point lead. Then Roberts went 6-for-8 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to end any potential comeback bid.

With under a minute left and a big lead, the LHS starters exited to a standing ovation from the crowd and a packed student section.

“It’s everything I dreamed about,” said Roberts, who scored a game-high 17 points. “I wouldn’t want to do it with any other guys. These are my brothers and I love them to death.”

The Lions will play in the 6A state tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday at Koch Arena at Wichita State University.

SM EAST (45)

Jack Flint 2-5 4-5 9, Gunnar Englund 0-8 3-4 3, Max Danner 1-5 0-0 3, Jay Guastello 5-16 2-2 14, Zeb Vermillion 5-14 0-0 11, Davis Morrison 1-3 0-0 3, Ryan Dornbusch 0-1 0-0 0, Henry Sullivan 0-1 0-0 0, Collin Burns 0-0 1-2 1, Alex Glazer 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 14-53 11-15 45.

LAWRENCE (60)

Justin Roberts 4-8 8-11 17, Price Morgan 2-8 5-7 9, Ben Rajewski 2-5 1-2 7, Fred Brou 1-4 0-0 2, John Barbee 2-2 5-11 10, Logan Applegate 5-7 2-3 12, Anthony Harvey 1-2 0-0 3, Jackson Mallory 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0, Tae Shorter 0-0 0-0 0, Kobe Buffalomeat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-36 21-34 60.

SM East 7 11 13 14 — 45

Lawrence 11 13 11 25 — 60

Three-point field goals: SM East 6-23 (Gaustello 2, Flint, Danner, Vermillion, Morrison); Lawrence 5-12 (Rajewski 2, Roberts, Barbee, Harvey). Turnovers: SM East 13, Lawrence 19.