Lawrence High boys fall to Wichita East in the state championship, 58-43
Wichita ? Lawrence High’s boys basketball team struggled to hit shots and keep Wichita East from grabbing rebounds in a 58-43 loss in the Class 6A state championship on Saturday night at Koch Arena.
The second-seeded Lions finished their season with a 23-2 record.
LHS struggled to stop Wichita East’s 6-foot-5 junior forward Xavier Kelly, who used his big frame to score 22 points, grab 10 rebounds and block four shots in the low post. East senior guard Zach Jackson, a University of Nebraska-Omaha signee, added 23 points and three assists.
Midway through the third quarter, the Aces went on a 10-0 run over three minutes to take a 37-19 lead. LHS senior guard Anthony Bonner ended the stretch with a three-pointer, assisted from junior point guard Justin Roberts, but Jackson quickly answered with a triple of his own.
The Aces led by 19 points with 5:11 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Lions went on an 11-3 run to close within 11, but LHS would never climb any closer.
The Lions led 5-2 in the first minutes of the game after Bonner drilled a three-pointer and Roberts scored a layup, assisted by junior forward Price Morgan. However, they shot 2-18 from the floor afterward and fell into a 21-13 deficit at halftime. The Aces also outrebounded the Lions, 25-10, in the first two quarters.
LHS shot 29.5 percent from the field (13-of-44) throughout the contest, including 5-of-22 from behind the three-point arc.
Bonner and Roberts led the Lions with a team-high 18 points apiece. Bonner, a Colorado State signee, also added six rebounds and a steal. Morgan scored four points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, and senior guard John Barbee added three points.
It’s the seventh time the Lions have finished runner-up at the state tournament in school history, most recently in 2008.
Here’s a look at the LHS scoring from Saturday night:
Justin Roberts – 18 points, 7-of-13 FG, 1-of-2 FT
Anthony Bonner – 18 points, 5-of-18 FG, 6-of-8 FT
Price Morgan – 4 points, 1-of-3 FG, 2-of-5 FT
John Barbee – 3 points, 0-of-5 FG, 3-of-8 FT