Lawrence High sophomore Clarence King (24) makes a quick stop to look for a pass during the second quarter of Tuesday's game against Shawnee Mission Northwest at LHS.

Lawrence High sophomore guard Clarence King usually doesn’t show much emotion on the basketball court.

But King made an exception Tuesday in Lawrence’s first home game in more than a month. He flashed some smiles when he was playing defense. He smiled when he was passing the ball. And he was grinning when his shot was dropping.

The 6-foot-1 King scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Lions to a 65-54 victory over Shawnee Mission Northwest at LHS.

King, who accelerates as fast as a Lamborghini toward the rim, made his first five shots, including a layup-and-the-foul bucket on the game’s opening possession. During the second quarter, he had a stretch of eight straight points.

It set the tone for the Lions (10-4, 5-1 in Sunflower League), who led by 10 points in the first six minutes and by as many as 18 in the first half.

“My first and-one, I knew I had it rolling,” said King, who added five rebounds and three assists. “Just keep attacking the basket and they can’t stop me going to the basket.”

The Lions led by double digits for most of the second half, but started to sweat when the Cougars (7-8, 2-4) cut the score to six points, 53-47, with 4:27 remaining.

Fueled by multiple LHS turnovers, the Cougars scored on six straight possessions.

But all the scare did was help the Lions refocus on defense and they followed with a 9-0 run. LHS center Kobe Buffalomeat blocked one shot at the rim and was rewarded with a layup on his trip down the court.

“I told the guys at half, ‘They’re not going anywhere,'” Lawrence coach Mike Lewis said. “You get comfortable and all of a sudden you’re right there and you’ve got a nail biter.”

In the first half, the Lions shot 13-of-21 (62 percent), including four layup-and-the-foul scores. With strong drives to the hoop, guards had no problem dropping the ball off for their post players, who converted open layups.

Sophomore forward Brett Chapple scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, Bufflomeat scored eight points and junior Anthony Selden had five points.

“I think we were more locked in,” said LHS sophomore Trey Quartlebaum, who scored seven points. “We knew their tendencies more and we prepared for them better. We didn’t overlook them.”

When the Lions are scoring, it only gives them more energy on defense. And that end of the floor was a big focus after a one-point loss to Shawnee Mission South last week.

“We saw some improvement in this game, although we just have to continue to work to finish games strong,” Lewis said. “A lot of the little things. It’s that time of the year where the little things will cost you.”

SM NORTHWEST (54)

Colton Skeens 2-8 0-0 5, C.C. Ghilardi 3-11 3-4 11, Alex Oleson 5-11 1-2 11, Noah Kendall 3-7 0-0 6, Jaylen Love 4-9 1-2 10, Austin Heinisch 1-3 0-0 3, Randall Moore Jr. 2-2 4-7 8, Cole Biery 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Eskina 0-0 0-0 0, George Specht 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 9-15 54.

LAWRENCE (65)

Braden Solko 1-3 1-1 3, Brett Chapple 6-7 3-4 15, Clarence King 6-8 4-6 17, Jackson Mallory 4-7 2-2 10, Kobe Buffalomeat 3-4 2-2 8, Anthony Selden 2-4 1-1 5, Austin Miller 0-4 0-0 0, Trey Quartlebaum 3-5 1-2 7, Noah Butler 0-0 0-0 0, Savonni Shazor 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Rajewski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-42 14-18 65.

Northwest 7 13 15 19 — 54

Lawrence 20 15 13 17 — 65

Three-point goals: SM Northwest 5-22 (Ghilardi 2, Skeens, Love); Lawrence 1-9 (King). Fouled out: Moore. Turnovers: SM Northwest 12, Lawrence 18.