LHS senior Fred Brou (21) dunks against Leavenworth on Tuesday evening.

Leavenworth ? Lawrence High senior point guard Justin Roberts thought he was going to face a defense geared to stop him on Tuesday.

After averaging 22.2 points per game before winter break, LHS coaches told Roberts there was a possibility he could face a box-and-one zone or any other type of gimmicky defense that tries to keep the ball out of his hands.

Instead, Leavenworth played its regular 2-3 zone defense, and Roberts took full advantage by scoring 17 points in the first quarter in a 63-42 victory at Leavenworth.

Roberts drilled five three-pointers and drove to the rim for a layup in those first eight minutes, leading the Lions to a 26-14 advantage.

“I just tried to play my game,” said Roberts, who finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. “I’m not trying to do anything crazy or anything fancy. If I’m open, I’m shooting the ball — otherwise I’m looking for my teammates. As a point guard, that’s what I have to do.”

The Lions (6-1, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A) frustrated Leavenworth’s defense with their ability to score in the paint and beyond the arc. With Roberts draining triples, 6-foot-5 senior forward Fred Brou scored six points in the opening period, receiving crisp passes from 6-4 senior forward Price Morgan.

In the final four minutes of the first quarter, the Lions went on a 16-4 run, scoring on their final seven possessions.

“Our goal was to come out and set the tone and I thought we did a nice job with that,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “Coming right out of the holiday break, sometimes you can come out and be a little bit flat. I thought we played with good pace and just a good momentum and good vibe that first half.”

Morgan added: “We can be a pretty dangerous team. Everybody was hitting shots, getting boards, running well. We got a little impatient when they went to the zone at first, but we figured it out. It was a pretty good quarter.”

With a height advantage in the post, Brou and Morgan used their size and athleticism to grab rebounds and make layups. Morgan scored seven of his team’s 13 points in the second quarter with a pair of putbacks and drives that earned trips to the free throw line.

Brou completed a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

“We’re never really taller than anybody, so it is really nice,” said Morgan, who had 15 points and five rebounds. “We just really took advantage of that. We’ve been working on post moves in practice all the time.”

In the second half, the Lions slowed down on offense. Morgan scored the team’s only bucket in the final six minutes of the the third quarter on a layup-and-the-foul score, assisted by junior guard Austin Miller.

In the fourth quarter, senior guard Anthony Harvey scored five points in 30 seconds with a three-pointer, a steal and a layup.

“Second half was kind of a lull,” Lewis said. “We kind of played down and just kind of got casual. It is what it is. But I liked our first half. It’s just nice to get that one out of the way.”

The Lions will travel to Olathe South at 7 p.m. Friday.

LAWRENCE (63)

Justin Roberts 8-11 2-2 23, Price Morgan 3-5 9-11 15, Fred Brou 5-7 1-2 11, Anthony Harvey 3-10 0-0 7, Jackson Mallory 1-8 0-0 2, Braden Solko 0-2 0-0 0, Austin Miller 0-1 2-2 2, Kobe Buffalomeat 1-4 0-0 2, Tayvien Robinson 0-1 2-2 2, Dante’ Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Trey Quartlebaum 0-1 0-0 0, Noah Butler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 16-19 63.

LEAVENWORTH (42)

Jerry Hanks 0-4 0-0 0, Jordan Berry 2-5 1-3 5, Joseph Clark 4-6 1-1 9, Daniel Griese 2-4 0-3 4, Zachary Thiel 3-10 0-0 9, Victor Lewis 2-3 0-0 4, Avery Bartlett 3-4 3-8 10, Xavier Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Erickson 0-2 0-0 0, Devin Johnston 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 16-40 6-17 42.

Lawrence 26 13 9 15–63

Leavenworth 14 7 9 12–42

Three-point goals: Lawrence 6-22 (Roberts 5, Harvey); Leavenworth 4-15 (Thiel 3, Bartlett). Turnovers: Lawrence 8, Leavenworth 11.