Free State Jalan Robinson (44) makes a strong move while being guarded by Olathe East's Charlie Bell (21) and Broderick Nelson (4) on Friday at FSHS.

Despite a flawless record, it had been anything but smooth sailing for the Free State boys basketball team during Sunflower League play.

Entering Friday, the Firebirds had found themselves in a number of close games and had come out on the right side against their league foes, due to their ability to close a contest out. Free State was unable to reciprocate that formula of success in a 63-57 loss to Olathe East on Senior Night, as Free State failed to hold an advantage for a single possession the entire second half.

“This was good for us,” coach Sam Stroh said. “I told them earlier today, we are three or four plays away from being .500 in the league. So we are not perfect by any means. But this was good, have to give credit to Olathe East. This will be a good learning experience.”

Following the loss and a Lawrence High victory, the Firebirds (13-5, 8-1 in league) now sit atop the Sunflower League standings by just a game with two outings left to play, including the City Showdown at LHS on Feb. 24.

Which is exactly why the timing of the team’s first league loss since Feb. 26 of last year may be the very thing the Firebirds need. It may just help jolt them back into place heading into the final week of the regular season.

“It’s not good for us but it is good for us,” senior Jay Dineen said. “We had everyone at school patting our back and saying, ‘Good job.’ This is a wakeup call.”

Starting five seniors — Shannon Cordes, Jacob Pavlyak, Cameron Clark, Sloan Thomsen and Dineen — FSHS was able to jump out to an early advantage. Cordes sunk eight of his team-high 18-points in the opening period, helping his squad to a 16-11 lead.

Clark got in foul trouble, including a technical, in the second quarter as the Hawks began to trim into the deficit. But in Clark’s absence, junior Jalan Robinson (10 points) contributed big minutes in the interior, including six points in the second period.

“Jalan Robinson played well,” Stroh said. “I liked his toughness and his rebounding. I thought he had a really good game.”

The Firebirds played the next two periods from behind after surrendering an 29-28 halftime lead. Olathe East opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run in the early minutes before extending it to a 15-4 stretch at the 1:46 mark.

Hawks freshman KT Raimey (19 points) delivered the biggest blow with a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer, even though Dineen was draped all over him. The Firebirds pulled within a possession once more in the fourth quarter, however, never fully recovered from a daunting third period.

“The way we have been playing lately has been scaring me a bit, we need to start beating teams by 10-20 points,” Dineen said. “Luck might have ran out a little bit.”

Junior Garrett Luinstra joined Cordes and Robinson in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting. As a team, FSHS connected on 20 of its 48 shot attempts, including a 4-of-15 effort from downtown.

Free State will travel to Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

OLATHE EAST (63)

Broderick Nelson 4-5 0-1 8, Luke Stuwe 1-2 1-2 3, Charlie Bell 3-6 0-0 7, Dakota LaGore 3-10 3-4 10, Kaleb Mackey 4-7 0-0 9, KT Raimey 5-8 6-8 19, Robert Kullberg 1-2 0-0 3, Jake Reynolds 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 21-41 12-17 63.

FREE STATE (57)

Garrett Luinstra 5-13 1-1 12, Simon McCaffrey 1-2 0-0 3, Jay Dineen 3-5 2-2 8, Shannon Cordes 7-14 2-2 18, Cameron Clark 2-7 2-2 6, Jalan Robinson 2-4 6-7 10, Sloan Thomsen 0-2 0-0 0, Jacob Pavlyak 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 20-48 13-16 57.

O-East 11 17 18 17 — 63

Free State 16 13 9 19 — 57

Three-point goals: O-East 7-8 (Raimey 3, Bell, LaGore, Mackey, Kullberg); Free State 4-15 (Cordes 2, McCaffrey, Luinstra). Fouled out: Bell, OE; Dineen, FS. Turnovers: O-East 8, Free State 10.