Free State High senior Drew Tochtrop (12) forces up a shot between Lee's Summit North defenders Justin Root (35) and Jordan Bynum (24) during the Best of the Midwest Showcase game Saturday afternoon at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. The Firebirds outlasted the Broncos, 83-81, in a game that went into triple overtime.

Overland Park ? In the past two days, the biggest lesson opponents learned about Free State High’s boys basketball players is they refuse to lose.

When they need to hit big shots in crunch time, they hit shots. When the Firebirds need a defensive stop, they make a stop.

Less than 24 hours after the Firebirds fought back from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit for one of the biggest comebacks in school history, Free State made big play after big play in an 83-81 victory over Lee’s Summit (Missouri) North in triple overtime at Johnson County Community College in the Best of Midwest Showcase on Saturday.

Down by three points with under 40 seconds left in the third overtime, FSHS senior Darian Lewis grabbed an offensive rebound, took a few steps backward and knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 81.

Following a timeout, junior guard Jacob Pavlyak stole an inbounds pass. The Firebirds put the ball in the hands of senior Hunter Gudde, the hero of Friday’s game, and he drove down the lane and flipped a pass behind his head to senior Drew Tochtrop, who was sitting on the left block for a game-winning layup with under two seconds left — his only basket of the game.

“I was playing pretty bad at the beginning, and coach benched me for most of the second half and the first two overtimes,” Tochtrop said. “When he put me back in, I knew I had to do something.”

Throughout the three overtimes and final minutes of regulation, both schools made plays to win the game — and at some points, refused to win. In the second overtime, the Firebirds led by six points with under 30 seconds left before turning the ball over and watching LSN junior Cameron Hairston hit two free throws, freshman Javaunte Hawkins hit a three and Hairston sink a game-tying layup at the buzzer.

Hairston, an athletic guard with an extra bounce in his step, finished with an LSN-record 38 points. He had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime, slashing past defenders down the lane, but his layup attempt at the horn sat on the rim before falling off and giving the Firebirds new life.

“It was terrible help defense by me, but we were fortunate that he missed that layup,” said Gudde, who had a team-high 23 points. “Things happen like that. At the end of the game (Friday), they missed free throws. Things have been going our way lately.”

The Firebirds (7-1) have a team motto: strength in numbers. They lived up to it on Saturday, using 12 players throughout the 44 minutes. For the majority of the first half, they played without their top two scorers, Gudde and senior Chrision Wilburn, because of foul trouble and still had a three-point lead.

Junior Sloan Thomsen drilled three triples in the first quarter and had 14 points. Junior Shannon Cordes added 11 points, including a game-tying three with a minute left in the first overtime. Junior Cameron Clark had six points and four rebounds, and sophomore Jalan Robinson, in his second varsity game, added a bucket.

Unlike Friday’s improbable comeback, Free State had a six-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Broncos (4-7) went on a 12-4 run over five minutes for a 53-51 advantage.

After LSN missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw, FSHS senior point guard Kristian Rawls dropped in a floater before the buzzer to send the game that refused to end into overtime.

“It’s good for our guys, learning how to fight through adversity, to be up in a situation,” FSHS coach Sam Stroh said. “(Friday) night was the complete reverse. We were scrapping and clawing. Tonight it was like we didn’t know how to finish them off. But I liked that fact that we responded.”

Said Lewis, who added seven points and five rebounds off of the bench: “That’s what we do. We want to win, so we find our way.”

LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH (81)

Jacob Riley 3-6 2-3 11, Logan Jenkins 3-7 0-0 6, Cameron Hairston 8-17 22-27 38, Hayden Bradford 0-3 1-2 1, Zach Humbard 0-2 1-2 1, Elijah Farr 5-7 2-3 14, Javaunte Hawkins 2-4 0-0 6, Tyler Aeilts 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Root 1-2 0-0 2, Jordan Bynum 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 23-52 28-37 81.

FREE STATE (83)

Kristian Rawls 4-6 4-6 14, Chrision Wilburn 1-1 0-0 2, Sloan Thomsen 5-13 0-0 14, Jacob Pavlyak 1-3 0-0 2, Hunter Gudde 6-13 11-14 23, Shannon Cordes 4-9 2-2 11, Darian Lewis 3-7 0-0 7, Cameron Clark 3-4 0-0 6, Simon McCaffrey 0-2 0-0 0, Drew Tochtrop 1-4 0-0 2, Jalan Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Garrett Luinstra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-63 17-22 83.

LS-North 16 15 8 14 7 11 10 — 81

Free State 23 11 11 8 7 11 12 — 83

Three-point goals: LS-North 7-19 (Riley 3, Farr 2, Hawkins 2); Free State 8-26 (Thomsen 4, Rawls 2, Cordes, Lewis). Fouled out: Rawls, Wilburn, Clark, Farr. Turnovers: LS-North 13, Free State 14.