Olathe ? Playing against a motivated group of Olathe East seniors on Friday, Free State High’s boys basketball team had little room for error.

One bad stretch in the second half cost the Firebirds in a 68-61 loss on Olathe East’s Senior Night.

In the third quarter, the Firebirds went scoreless for nearly four minutes, turning the ball over in three straight possessions. The sixth-ranked Hawks (14-4, 6-3 in the Sunflower League) took full advantage with an 11-0 run, highlighted by layup-and-the-foul buckets from Div. I-bound seniors Josiah Talbert (Liberty University) and Cameron Hunter (North Dakota State).

In the run, which ended when Free State junior Shannon Cordes made a free throw, Free State saw its five-point lead turn into a 42-36 deficit. The Firebirds never led again.

“I thought we kind of panicked a little bit,” FSHS coach Sam Stroh said. “We needed a little composure. We talked about that. But I liked the way we responded. … That’s the best I’ve seen Olathe East all season. There’s a reason they were preseason (ranked) No. 1.”

Throughout the fourth quarter, the never-quit Firebirds (12-5, 6-3 in the Sunflower League) were one shot away from tying the game. But their potential game-tying or go-ahead shots wouldn’t drop, and they couldn’t find critical stops on defense.

Olathe East, which had lost at home by 21 points to Olathe North last week, refused to let the Firebirds play spoiler to its 10 seniors — the only players who stepped on the court. The Hawks went 11-of-13 at the free-throw line in the final 31/2 minutes.

“We played really well for about 29 minutes,” said FSHS junior Jay Dineen, who had eight points and eight rebounds. “We let the last couple of minutes get away from us. We just need to go in and handle adversity, especially with a crowd like that and a team like that.”

The Firebirds will travel to William Chrisman (Mo.) for their final non-league game at 3 p.m. today.

The ninth-ranked Firebirds were down 51-50 with 3:59 remaining when senior point guard Kristian Rawls drained two free throws. Then the Hawks scored on their next three possessions.

A few minutes later, Free State trailed, 58-56, when Dineen made a driving layup. But, again, the Hawks had an answer, scoring on their final six possessions.

Winning games on the road in hostile environments is still a puzzle the Firebirds are trying to solve, especially before sub-state play begins. They are undefeated at home.

“It’s tough, but we can do it,” Dineen said of winning road games. “We showed that we can stay in a game with a team like that, which means we probably could stay in a game with anybody.”

With a new starting lineup featuring juniors Dineen and Cameron Clark, the Firebirds raced to a quick start. Clark, a 6-6 forward, scored all seven of his points in the first quarter, including a layup-and-the-foul bucket and a two-handed dunk in transition. Senior Hunter Gudde added five of his game-high 22 points in the opening quarter.

In the first half, the Firebirds shot 55 percent from the floor (11-of-20) and took care of the ball with only three turnovers. They were efficient, and yet only led by three points at halftime.

“They are good,” Stroh said of the Hawks. “They hit shots from the outside, and they pounded us inside. It’s kind of pick your poison. We had to kind of decide what we were going to do. We have to get better. That’s all there is to it.”

FREE STATE (61)

Kristian Rawls 2-4 2-2 6, Jay Dineen 3-6 1-1 8, Jacob Pavlyak 0-2 0-0 0, Hunter Gudde 6-13 9-9 22, Cameron Clark 2-5 3-3 7, Chrision Wilburn 1-2 0-0 2, Sloan Thomsen 3-4 0-0 7, Shannon Cordes 2-6 3-4 7, Simon McCaffrey 0-0 0-0 0, Darian Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Drew Tochtrop 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 18-19 61.

OLATHE EAST (68)

Jack Hiller 2-4 0-0 6, Dion Union 2-5 5-7 9, Cedric Roland 4-5 4-9 12, Cameron Hunter 2-5 9-9 13, Josiah Talbert 7-17 3-3 20, Kameron Barnes 2-3 3-4 8, Brandon Mills 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Churchill 0-0 0-0 0, Simon Bondank 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Ippolito 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 24-32 68.

Free State 17 15 9 20 — 61

O-East 12 17 16 23 — 68

Three-point goals: Free State 3-10 (Dineen, Gudde, Thomsen); Olathe East 6-13 (Talbert 3, Hiller 2, Barnes). Fouled out: Rawls, Dineen, Hiller. Turnovers: Free State 10, Olathe East 6.