During practice Monday, Lawrence High boys basketball coach Mike Lewis never brought up his team’s upcoming matchup against Wichita Southeast.

But his players didn’t need to be reminded.

The Lions will face Wichita Southeast in the first round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament at 3:15 p.m. today at Topeka High. It’s a rematch of the Class 6A state semifinals last season, when the Golden Buffaloes advanced to the state title game with a 74-61 victory.

Both teams feature vastly different lineups. But returners from LHS didn’t forget the pain from the loss or the potential opportunity to avenge last year’s defeat.

Lawrence senior guard Jackson Mallory is the only LHS returning starter from last year’s semifinal game, while seniors Braden Solko, Kobe Buffalomeat, Austin Miller and sophomore Noah Butler played off of the bench.

“With a new group, I don’t think they know it as much as we do,” Mallory said of his teammates. “Returners know they beat us last year to go to the state championship game so it means a lot for us. It’s going to be a tough game. They are a really good team. It’ll be a dogfight.”

The Buffaloes (5-4) are led by junior Israel Barnes, who is averaging 27.8 points per game, which leads the City League by more than 10 points. Barnes, a 6-foot-4 guard, scored 27 points against the Lions last year.

Southeast will likely be without freshman guard Micah Jacques, who suffered a knee injury and missed a game last week. Jacques averages 13.1 points per game.

“Especially me, being more of defensive-minded guy, I love these kind of matchups,” Solko said.

The Lions (7-1, ranked No. 4 in 6A) have strong history in the Topeka tournament. They’ve won two of the past three tournaments, winning both title games by one point.

It’s one of their highlights of the season, playing three games in three days. Along with Southeast, the tournament field includes Wichita East (6-3), Wichita South (6-3) and Vashon (10-2) out of St. Louis.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Solko said. “Some of the best teams in the state come there, including us. We know we have a target on our back because we’ve been winning it the past couple of years. People come and see Lawrence High and they want to give us their best shot.”

For the Lions, on a five-game winning streak, there’s a lot of pride involved with becoming one of the top teams in the tournament.

And that pride is where Lewis and some of his players attribute their recent success.

“We get excited about it,” Lewis said. “We’re energized about it. It’s important to us. I think as a coach and players, if you get excited and it’s important to you, you’re going to play your best — or at least, you’re going to try to.”