Free State forward Cameron Clark (34) gets the Firebirds hyped up for their game against Shawnee Mission Northwest Friday night at FSHS.

Free State High’s boys basketball team hadn’t trailed since the opening minutes Friday night against Shawnee Mission Northwest. But when Cougars senior guard Ferdinand Handy guided his team to a late-game surge, the Firebirds had to fall back on their crunch-time experience.

After Handy’s third three-pointer of the fourth quarter tied the game at 50 with more than a minute left in regulation, some hustle plays and free throws gave FSHS just enough to prevail, 59-58, in overtime at FSHS.

The Firebirds took the lead for good in the final minute of the extra period, when senior forward Chrision Wilburn chased down a loose ball and made two free throws with 46 seconds left.

And although SMNW senior guard Dylan Dirks drilled a three-pointer in the closing seconds of OT, it wasn’t enough to extend the game, because Free State senior Kristian Rawls (1-for-2 at the free-throw line in overtime) and junior Jay Dineen (2-for-2) had padded the lead in the final 30 seconds.

“Jay hit some big free throws down the stretch to (extend) the lead,” FSHS coach Sam Stroh said of Dineen’s successful trip with 11.2 seconds remaining, putting the home team up four, “and we got a couple stops and just got out with a win. We’ve got to get better.”

Four third-quarter turnovers and five more in the fourth contributed to the Cougars’ comeback, and Stroh characterized Free State’s decision-making as “interesting” at times in the second half. But the Firebirds (11-2) have reached a point where they know how to win these types of games. This marked their third overtime victory of the season, and they’ve defeated three other opponents by five or fewer points.

Said Wilburn: “Some games we don’t play hard enough for 32 minutes. But we start fighting harder the last couple of minutes, try to get the win.”

Added Stroh: “We like playing extra minutes, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not happy. I know the guys weren’t satisfied.”

Senior Hunter Gudde scored both of Free State’s OT field goals on drives to the paint, and led the team with 14 points. Those baskets helped offset layups from the Cougars’ Jamey Fisher and Handy (23 points) in four minutes of extra time.

Soon after, Dineen kept a FSHS possession alive by diving on the floor for a loose ball, causing a tie-up. Wilburn fed off that energy on defense less than 30 seconds later, when the 6-foot-3 forward out-hustled everyone else on the court for a steal.

“I was mostly trying to go get the two points, try to get the and-one, get the game going,” Wilburn said of his mid-chase strategy.

Although he had missed two free throws 30 seconds earlier, Wilburn made two on his second OT trip to the foul line.

“I just kind of put it out of my head, took a deep breath,” Wilburn said, “just went through my flow to try and make free throws.”

Gudde only scored one field goal in the first three quarters, but had seven points in the fourth quarter and overtime, after SMNW made a 9-0 run to close the third and make the Firebirds sweat.

SM NORTHWEST (58)

Ferdinand Handy 9-16 0-0 23, Jamey Fisher 3-6 0-0 6, Austin Sanders 2-3 2-4 7, Jalen LyDay 3-7 0-1 6, Dylan Dirks 3-10 2-4 9, Noah Kendall 0-1 1-2 1, Zach Smith 1-1 1-2 4, Christian Ghilardi 0-1 0-0 0, Manik Kapoor 1-1 0-0 2, Joe Specht 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylen Love 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 6-12 58.

FREE STATE (59)

Kristian Rawls 1-2 5-6 7, Chrision Wilburn 0-2 2-4 2, Sloan Thomsen 2-5 0-1 6, Jacob Pavlyak 5-6 3-5 13, Hunter Gudde 4-8 6-9 14, Jay Dineen 1-1 3-4 5, Cameron Clark 1-2 0-0 2, Shannon Cordes 2-2 0-0 4, Drew Tochtrop 1-2 1-2 3, Simon McCaffrey 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 18-32 20-32 59.

SMNW 8 10 18 14 8 — 58

Free State 12 14 12 12 9 — 59

Three-point goals: SMNW 8-14 (Handy 5, Sanders, Dirks, Smith); FSHS 3-9 (Thomsen 2, McCaffrey). Fouled out: SMNW LyDay. Turnovers: SMNW 14; FSHS 15.