Free State senior guard Reece White-Downing races to the basket for a shot while defended by Lawrence junior Trey Quartlebaum in a matchup between the two city teams Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Minutes after winning their first City Showdown game since 2013, Free State’s boys basketball players showed no desire to walk off the court at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Firebirds celebrated with their student section behind one of the baskets, singing along to their fight song following a 56-49 victory against Lawrence High. Players stood along their bench, smiling for photos from parents. A couple of them grabbed extra basketballs and took a few more shots before retreating to the locker room.

After eight straight losses to their crosstown rivals, the Firebirds wanted to do as much as they could to soak in the win.

“It’s what we’ve been working so hard for since some of us were freshmen,” Free State senior forward Jalan Robinson said. “It feels good, definitely.”

As both teams traded leads in the third quarter, Free State senior guard Bansi King provided a spark with eight straight points for his team. It was the first time King played in the City Showdown, after spending his first three seasons at Bishop Seabury. Wearing an oversized No. 20 jersey because there was blood on his original uniform, he knocked down back-to-back threes from opposite wings.

That’s all the Firebirds needed to find a little bit of rhythm on offense. Senior guard Reece White-Downing made a layup to start a 7-0 run in the final 58 seconds in the third quarter, which included a layup-and-the-foul score by senior Garrett Luinstra. They never trailed again.

“If we don’t hit those shots, heck, I don’t know if we get to 40 points,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said of King’s triples. “It kind of seemed to break the barrier and get us rolling.”

In the fourth quarter, the Firebirds (2-0, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A) led by as many as 13 points when both schools emptied their benches in the final minute. The 6-foot-5 Robinson (six points, 10 rebounds) used his size to grab nearly every loose ball, motivated by his coach telling him to play tougher. Luinstra, who scored a game-high 20 points, made a couple of free throws.

The Lions (2-3, ranked No. 5) only made two of their first 11 shots in final period. During one possession, they grabbed four offensive rebounds but failed to capitalize.

Limited to only four points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, the Lions lost their third straight game. Junior guard Trey Quartlebaum led with 13 points while senior Anthony Selden showed his athleticism with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

“They can’t let some of our past success wear them out right now,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “They have to overcome this stretch and play toward the future and that can be hard because of the success we’ve had for a pretty long stretch now. I didn’t see them playing with pressure but I know it’s there.”

Lawrence led for the majority of the second quarter, but never pulled ahead by more than two points. Junior Savonni Shazor took charge running the offense with four assists in the first half.

But the Firebirds snagged momentum by holding the Lions without a point for the final three minutes of the second quarter. White-Downing, who played his sophomore year at Free State and junior season at Topeka, had a buzzer-beating layup before halftime.

“It was a little ugly at times,” Robinson said. “But I feel like we came out and we showed what we had.”

Lawrence (49)

Anthony Selden 4-9 1-5 10, Brett Chapple 2-4 0-0 4, Trey Quartlebaum 5-11 3-4 13, Jake Rajewski 1-7 0-0 3, Savonni Shazor 3-7 0-0 7, Steven Strickland 0-1 0-0 0, Zeke Mayo 3-10 0-0 7, Valdez White 0-0 0-0 0, Willie Dotson 1-1 0-0 3, Garrett Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Johnson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 4-9 49.

Free State (56)

Garrett Luinstra 6-15 6-7 20, Simon McCaffrey 1-4 2-2 4, Bansi King 4-7 0-0 10, Noah Butler 2-5 0-0 4, Jalan Robinson 1-4 4-6 6, Reece White-Downing 4-9 2-4 10, Turner Corcoran 0-0 0-0 0, Avant Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Hicks 0-0 2-2 2, Charlie Newsome 0-0 0-0 0, Jaxon Malone 0-0 0-0 0, Wyatt Durland 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Lincoln 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-44 16-21 56.

Lawrence 12 8 15 14 — 49

Free State 10 12 19 15 — 56

Three-point goals: Lawrence 5-22 (Selden, Rajewski, Shazor, Mayo, Dotson); Free State 4-12 (Luinstra 2, King 2). Fouled out: Butler. Turnovers: Lawrence 14, Free State 12.