Free State forward Cameron Clark (34) gets tangled with a Leavenworth defender on Tuesday at FSHS.

Free State High’s boys basketball team looked unstoppable for stretches against Leavenworth on Tuesday and not-so-good for other stretches.

“The story of the year so far,” Free State boys basketball coach Sam Stroh said with a laugh after his team cruised to a 48-34 victory at FSHS.

The Firebirds made their first four shots and jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first 41?2 minutes. Senior forward Chrision Wilburn scored six of those points, receiving passes in the paint from senior guard Hunter Gudde and senior point guard Kristian Rawls for uncontested layups.

Free State guard Hunter Gudde (30) knocks the ball out of a Leavenworth defender's hands Tuesday night at Free State.

Free State forward Cameron Clark (34) gets tangled with a Leavenworth defender on Tuesday at FSHS.

Free State High guard Hunter Gudde (30) attempts to shoot past Leavenworth forward Julian Williams (35) in the Firebirds' 48-34 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, at FSHS.

Then the Pioneers (1-6) held the Firebirds scoreless for the final 3:35 of the first quarter and scored on three straight possessions.

“Our start was great,” Stroh said. “We talked about the first four minutes and bringing some energy.”

In the second quarter, the Firebirds (5-1) held the Pioneers to only three points — a three-pointer by senior Joseph Clark — and took a 21-11 halftime lead.

Free State had five scorers in the period, including a layup-and-the-foul by Rawls, a putback from sophomore Reece White-Downing, a coast-to-coast layup by junior Jacob Pavlyak and a layup from junior Shannon Cordes.

“We’ve been up and down. It’s been a roller coaster,” Pavlyak said. “We just keep fighting through. Today we were focused the whole game. We were playing defense. We had energy the whole time.”

Gudde, who averaged 25 points in Free State’s two wins last week, was held scoreless in the first half. He missed two shots and had a pair of turnovers.

But in the third quarter, Gudde scored nine of his game-high 15 points with drives to the rim and putbacks in the paint.

“We have guys on our team that are going to score,” Gudde said. “I don’t need to score every game or anything. I wasn’t worried about my points. I knew my teammates will do the job, even if I’m not doing anything on the offensive end.”

Along with Gudde’s scoring in the third quarter, Cordes drilled a triple, then grabbed a steal and went coast-to-coast through traffic for a layup.

The Pioneers pulled within seven points during the fourth quarter with five minutes remaining, but missed their final five shots.

FSHS 6-foot-6 junior Cameron Clark, who was making his varsity debut, scored on a layup midway through the fourth quarter before Gudde scored four straight points.

“There were things that we did better tonight than Friday, which was good,” Stroh said. “In a league that’s as deep as this league, and a Tuesday night, a win is a win. That’s been our approach for our first three games in the league. We still have a lot of room to grow, though. I think a lot of the guys know that.”

The Firebirds will travel to Olathe Northwest at 7 p.m. Friday.

LEAVENWORTH (34)

Jerry Hanks 3-11 0-0 6, Jordan Berry 2-3 0-0 4, Joseph Clark 3-8 0-0 7, Daniel Griese 0-1 0-0 0, Zachary Thiel 3-10 3-3 11, Avery Bartlett 2-4 0-2 4, Marcus Erickson 0-0 0-0 0, Xavier Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Victor Lewis 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 14-40 3-5 34.

FREE STATE (48)

Kristian Rawls 2-4 1-1 5, Chrision Wilburn 4-7 0-0 8, Sloan Thomsen 0-3 0-0 0, Jacob Pavylak 2-6 1-2 5, Hunter Gudde 5-8 5-7 15, Drew Tochtrop 0-2 0-0 0, Shannon Cordes 3-5 0-0 7, Darian Lewis 0-0 2-2 2, Reece White-Downing 1-2 0-0 2, Cameron Clark 1-2 2-2 4, Simon McCaffrey 0-1 0-0 0, Garrett Lunistra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 11-14 48.

Leavenworth 8 3 15 8 — 34

Free State 10 11 16 11 — 48

Three-point goals: Leavenworth 3-13 (Thiel 2, Clark); Free State 1-8 (Cordes). Turnovers: Leavenworth 16, Free State 8.