Lawrence High sophomore Noah Butler (30) throws down a dunk during the City Showdown on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Once the final buzzer sounded Friday, Lawrence High senior guard Jackson Mallory let out a scream on his walk back to his team’s bench.

It was one of the first times he could catch his breath in the final minutes because, of course, it wouldn’t be the City Showdown without at least a little drama.

Mallory watched his team’s 21-point fourth-quarter lead drop to five points in about two minutes. But the Lions made enough free throws in the final minute to secure a 61-57 victory over Free State at Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence’s seventh straight win in the crosstown clash.

The 6-foot-2 Mallory, the primary ball handler for the Lions, did everything that he could to make sure his team found a way to win. That meant jumping passing lanes on defense and diving onto the court near benches.

The Lions (4-1) opened the fourth quarter with a 16-5 run over the first 4 1/2 minutes, earning plenty of trips to the free throw line and converting on layups. Mallory scored six points in the stretch and senior guard Austin Miller added four of his 10 points.

“We’ve still got to change our culture in terms of finding a way to win this game,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “I thought Jackson Mallory was the difference in the game. His toughness, getting the loose balls and leading them.”

With 3:35 remaining, the Lions held a 55-34 lead. Free State senior Jay Dineen jumpstarted his team’s offense with a pair of and-one buckets before Jacob Pavlyak, Sloan Thomsen and Simon McCaffrey drilled threes, cutting the score to 56-51 with a minute left. The Lions followed by making their next four free throws.

With the crowd roaring, unable to hear instructions from the bench — or let alone think, the Lions turned the ball over six times in the last 3 1/2 minutes with seven missed free throws.

Dineen led the Firebirds (2-2) with 15 points while Pavylak scored 11 and junior Jalan Robinson added nine points and eight rebounds.

“All we needed to do is take care of business and we had continuous turnovers and Dineen decided to do whatever he wanted to do,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “I want to let that go and kind of focus more on what we did to get to that 21-point lead, which was play pretty good basketball there for a good stretch.”

Mallory’s offensive sidekick Friday, shifty sophomore guard Clarence King, gave the Lions a lead they would never give up in the second quarter with a layup-and-the-foul bucket. On the next possession, King drilled a 3-pointer.

It was the first City Showdown for King, a transfer from AC Prep, and he called it an “amazing experience” after finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds.

But in the third quarter, Mallory, who ended with a game-high 16 points, took his game to another level. He scored five points with four rebounds and a steal in a three-minute stretch.

“Playing in the best college arena in the nation, it was crazy,” Mallory said after the City Showdown’s first game in its 20-year history at the University of Kansas. “Growing up a Jayhawk fan, it’s always been a dream of mine and it’s a dream come true with a win over Free State.”

LAWRENCE (61)

Braden Solko 1-4 1-2 4, Austin Miller 3-5 2-2 10, Clarence King 4-11 5-9 14, Jackson Mallory 4-10 7-8 16, Kobe Buffalomeat 2-4 2-4 6, Noah Butler 2-5 1-2 5, Brett Chapple 0-1 0-0 0, Trey Quartlebaum 2-4 0-2 4, Anthony Selden 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 19-49 18-29 61.

FREE STATE (57)

Jay Dineen 5-11 5-8 15, Sloan Thomsen 1-4 0-0 3, Shannon Cordes 0-9 0-0 0, Jacob Pavlyak 4-9 2-2 11, Cameron Clark 2-6 0-1 4, Garrett Luinstra 2-4 1-2 7, Jalan Robinson 2-4 5-11 9, Simon McCaffrey 2-2 2-2 8. Totals 18-49 15-26 57.

Lawrence 14 10 15 22 — 61

Free State 12 7 10 28 — 57

Three-point goals: Lawrence 4-20 (Miller 2, King, Mallory); Free State 6-17 (Luinstra 2, McCaffrey 2, Thomsen, Pavlyak). Fouled out: Clark. Turnovers: Lawrence 10, Free State 10.