Overland Park ? As Lawrence High sophomore Clarence King dribbled the ball up the court in the final seconds, he looked over to boys basketball coach Mike Lewis to make sure he had the green light to finish the game with a dunk.

Only King didn’t get high enough on his dunk attempt and was forced to lay the ball in. But that would be the only time King came up short in the fourth quarter. He scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as Lawrence earned a 65-55 road victory at Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday night.

“I have to (keep attacking),” King said. “People depend on me to score. I have to provide for my team.”

King wasn’t able to impose his will in the first half, scoring just four points on 2-of-5 shooting because he and three other teammates were saddled with two fouls. But King’s teammates made it a point to keep him engaged, knowing they would need him later in the game.

“They just told me to keep attacking and don’t worry about the foul trouble,” King said. “Just keep doing you.”

In the meantime, senior Jackson Mallory kept the Lions (7-1) in the game by scoring 11 of his 17 points in the first half. Mallory made his first three attempts from beyond the arc, before cooling off in the second half.

As Mallory cooled off, the Lions opened the second half with much more energy than they displayed in the first half. Neither Mallory or King did much scoring in the third quarter, but they’re attacking opened things up for others.

Sophomore Brett Chapple took advantage of the attention Mallory and King got from the Vikings’ defense when they drove to the basket. He turned up the intensity on the offensive glass, and scored six of his 11 points in the quarter to help turn a 25-21 halftime deficit into a 36-33 lead entering the fourth quarter.

From there, King took over the game and simply wouldn’t allow the Lions to lose. Not only did he score 15 of the Lions’ 29 fourth quarter points, he also set up teammates and was able to push the tempo, which Lewis credited to their improved rebounding late in the game.

King also assisted on the biggest basket of the game for the Lions, a 3-pointer by senior Austin Miller, who hadn’t made a shot all game to give them a 53-48 lead in the final minutes.

“That’s about a senior waiting for the opportunity,” Lewis said of Miller’s triple. “That’s a shot that he should take and as a senior it should feel good for him to step up and make a big shot for us.”

LAWRENCE (65)

Braden Solko 0-1 0-0 0, Clarence King 8-12 7-9 23, Brett Chapple 4-5 3-4 11, Jackson Mallory 4-8 3-4 17, Kobe Buffalomeat 3-6 0-0 6, Austin Miller 1-3 2-4 5, Trey Quartlebaum 0-5 1-2 1, Noah Butler 1-5 0-0 2, Jacob Van Dave 0-1 0-1 0.

SHAWNEE MISSION WEST (55)

Mike Hood 8-16 6-9 24, Elijah Graham 2-2 0-0 5, Zach Witters 7-14 2-4 18, Jason Potter 0-5 0-0 0, Isreal Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Clipston 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron Southern 2-4 2-5 6, Jack McMahon 0-0 2-5 2.

Lawrence 12 9 15 29 — 65

Shawnee Mission West 10 15 8 22 — 55

Three point goals: Lawrence 4-17 (Mallory 3, Miller 1, Shawnee Mission West 5-15 (Hood 2, Witters 2, Graham 1). Fouled out: none. Turnovers: Lawrence 8, Shawnee Mission West 6.