With his jersey pulled over his head, Lawrence High sophomore Jackson Mallory heads to the bench as the final buzzer sounds while Wichita East players celebrate in the background during the Kansas 6A State championship game Saturday at Koch Arena in Wichita. The Lions fell to the Blue Aces, 58-43, and finished the season with a 23-2 record. Both losses came from Wichita East.

Wichita ? Lawrence High’s boys basketball players never gave up hope in the Class 6A state championship on Saturday. They trailed by double-digits against Wichita East in the fourth quarter, but they always felt they were on the verge of a comeback, no matter how slim the odds.

But the Aces always responded with a big bucket, and the Lions had their magical season end with a 58-43 loss at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.

With 43 seconds remaining, all of the LHS starters exited the game to a loud ovation from their fans. The Lions hugged each other and pulled their jerseys over their heads to hide their tears. They’ve always prided themselves on being such a close group of players, and that made the loss hurt so much more.

“We’ve been through a lot, and we’re a pretty tight-knit group,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said after wiping tears out of his eyes. “I’m just really proud to be connected with them.”

Little went right for the Lions, who only led for the first three minutes of the first quarter. On the first two possessions, senior guard Anthony Bonner drilled a three-pointer, and junior point guard Justin Roberts scored on a layup, receiving a backdoor pass from junior forward Price Morgan. After that, the Lions shot 2-for-18 from the floor for the remainder of the half and fell into a 21-13 deficit at halftime.

It didn’t improve much in the second half, and the Lions finished 13-for-44 (29.5 percent) from the field and 12-for-24 at the free-throw line.

“One of those games. It’s really unfortunate that it had to be that one,” said Bonner, who had 18 points and six rebounds. “But we can’t blame it all on the shots. We could have played a better game. But at the same time, it was an amazing season. I’ll tell my kids about these guys. I love this team. I’ll never forget these guys.”

On the other end of the court, Wichita East junior forward Xavier Kelly punished the Lions with his physicality. The 6-foot-5 defensive end who has committed to Kansas State made his first four shots and finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. The Aces also out-rebounded LHS, 42-26, including 15 offensive boards that turned into 14 second-chance points.

“He can move almost like a guard,” Bonner said of Kelly. “He’s just so big and strong and so forceful and athletic in there. We only faced that once or twice this year. Nothing as big as him. So that was a tough matchup for us.”

The Aces (24-1) pulled away with a 10-0 run over four minutes in the third quarter to take a 18-point lead. Bonner ended the run with a three-pointer, assisted from Roberts, but East senior guard Zach Jackson immediately responded with a triple of his own. Jackson, a Nebraska-Omaha signee, scored a game-high 24 points, including 17 in the second half.

“We lost to a good basketball team,” Lewis said. “They’re physical. They’ve got good balance amongst their team. I just wish we would have played a little bit better.”

With 2:27 remaining, the Lions used a 11-3 run to cut the score to 51-40. Roberts, who finished with 18 points, hit two three-pointers, and Bonner and Morgan added layups. But the Lions never moved any closer.

“Those last couple minutes, I knew it was going to be tough,” Morgan said. “We had a run, and Wichita East would respond with a three, an and-one or a big layup. A lot of credit to them. But I know all of our guys were really confident that we were going to make that comeback, that we were going to get on that run. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen.”

The Lions ended the season with a 23-2 record, with both losses against Wichita East. It’s the seventh time in school history the Lions finished as state runner-up.

The players emerged from the locker room afterward with red and puffy eyes, knowing how close they were to achieving a state championship together.

“I love these guys so much,” Roberts said, taking a deep breath. “They’re my brothers. It really sucks that it’s over.”

LAWRENCE (43)

Justin Roberts 7-13 1-2 18, Price Morgan 1-3 2-5 4, Ben Rajewski 0-4 0-0 0, Anthony Bonner 5-18 6-8 18, John Barbee 0-5 3-8 3, Logan Applegate 0-0 0-1 0, Fred Brou 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Hoffman 0-1 0-0 0, Tae Shorter 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Mallory 0-0 0-0 0, Kobe Buffalomeat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-44 12-24 43.

WICHITA EAST (58)

Samajae Jones 1-9 6-10 8, Terence Caw 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Jackson 6-8 10-11 23, Xavier Kelly 10-19 2-3 22, Isaac Fralin 2-3 0-0 9, Sam Eckels 0-2 0-0 0, Mark Hartley 0-0 0-0 0, Michael McKinney 0-0 0-0 0, Raymond O’Day 0-0 0-0 0, Elijah Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Zion Fralin 0-0 0-0 0, Arlando Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 19-26 58.

Lawrence 8 5 10 20 — 43

Wichita East 11 10 20 17 — 58

Three-point field goals: Lawrence 5-22 (Roberts 3, Bonner 2); Wichita East 1-8 (Jackson). Fouled out: Roberts. Turnovers: Lawrence 6, Wichita East 10.