Free State senior Shannon Cordes (22) makes a quick move to the basket during Tuesday's game against Shawnee Mission North at FSHS.

Free State senior Jacob Pavlyak heaved the basketball in the air as high as he possibly could as the final buzzer rang through the Free State gymnasium.

Despite leading by as many as 19 in the second half, the Firebirds once again found themselves in a nail-biter — an all too familiar scene for this season’s squad — where they ultimately prevailed, with a 74-73 victory over Shawnee Mission North.

“It’s very fun playing in these close of games,” senior Cameron Clark said. “I love it. I love the crowd, I love our energy and I love our competitiveness.”

Free State Shannon Cordes (22) goes in strong over Shawnee Mission North defender KyTerrian Harris (22) early in the first quarter of Tuesday's game at FSHS.

Clark served as the hero in the team’s latest thriller Tuesday.

Free State (10-4, No. 7 in 6A) trailed, 73-72, with 14.1 seconds remaining on the team’s final offensive possession. It marked the first time since midway through the first period that FSHS had been behind on the scoreboard, before a decisive 15-2 run to close out the opening period.

But even though they trailed, the team’s confidence never wavered. Senior Jay Dineen delivered a perfect bounce pass to junior Garrett Luinstra, who had back cut his defender and went to the hoop. Luinstra’s layup rattled off the rim, and Clark was there to recover the miss and put it back in with 5.8 seconds left.

“We just need leaders on this team,” Clark said. “We are really playing five-on-five. We have to have some leadership out there. I just thought, ‘Why not me?'”

Still, the Firebirds had to get a stop on the defensive end, something that had been a problem for much of the second half as Indians’ senior Danny Bradley (35 points) had anchored a monstrous comeback attempt.

Bradley, who shot 15-of-21 for the game, brought the ball up the court. Luinstra chased him every step of the way, and Pavlyak helped over when Bradley neared the perimeter. And just as Bradley attempted to make his move, Pavlyak poked the ball loose to seal the victory.

“Bradley basically took over the game,” coach Sam Stroh said. “I haven’t seen a kid score 30 in a half like that. It was almost with ease. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to him, but I was glad we came away with the win.”

Stroh tried a combination of players, including Shannon Cordes, Luinstra, Dineen and Pavlyak on Bradley.

But no matter who was on him, Bradley was near unstoppable. He connected on all but three of his attempts in the second half, including a 6-of-6 effort in the third quarter, which helped erase a near 20-point deficit.

Bradley was held to a 3-of-6 mark in the first half, as the Firebirds jumped out to a sizable advantage. They led, 42-25, at the intermission and had nine different players record a bucket in what had all the makings of a lopsided affair.

Three different players reached double figures for FSHS. Luinstra finished with 13 points, while Cordes added 11. Clark paced the unit with an 18-point effort on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor.

“(Cameron) has probably played his best month of basketball in his career,” Stroh said. “The sky is the limit for him, if he can put 32 minutes together.”

Free State will play host to Olathe South at 7 p.m. Friday.

SHAWNEE MISSION NORTH (73)

Danny Bradley 15-21 2-3 35, Will Schneider 3-5 0-0 6, Travis Hensley 0-1 0-0 0, Avante Williams 6-11 4-5 17, Jarrett Hensley 4-8 0-0 11, KyTerrian Harris 0-1 1-2 1, Amari Williams 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 29-50 7-10 73.

FREE STATE (74)

Garrett Luinstra 5-12 0-0 13, Jacob Paylyak 3-5 1-2 7, Simon McCaffrey 2-5 0-0 6, Jay Dineen 3-5 0-1 6, Shannon Cordes 3-9 5-7 11, Cameron Clark 8-10 2-4 18, Sloan Thomsen 2-3 0-0 4, Jalan Robinson 3-5 1-2 7, Avant Edwards 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 30-55 9-16 74.

SM North 10 15 26 22 — 73

Free State 18 24 13 19 — 74

Three-point goals: SMN 8-19 (Bradley 3, Jarrett Hensley 3, Avante Williams, Amari Williams); FSHS 5-14 (Luinstra 3, McCaffrey 2,). Fouled out: None. Turnovers: SMN 11, FSHS 9.