Lawrence High's Anthony Selden elevates for a dunk over Wichita East's Zion Fralin during the first half, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 at Topeka High School.

TOPEKA — Playing in the early afternoon game of the Topeka Invitational Tournament, Lawrence High’s boys basketball players understand the importance of a strong start.

The crowds are smaller and there’s usually not as much energy.

But after making a few shots Friday, the Lions loosened up and played their uptempo style in a 67-51 victory over Wichita East at Topeka High.

Then with 3:33 left in the first quarter, LHS junior Anthony Selden took flight and brought the entire crowd to its feet with a dunk over a defender.

Selden, the 6-foot-5 younger brother of former Kansas basketball standout Wayne Selden, dribbled the ball up from his own free throw line, had one defender in front of him, and had one thought: “Dunk on him.”

What followed was a sequence that usually leads on SportsCenter. Selden wanted to jump before Wichita East forward Zion Fralin was in position to take a charge. So he took off in the middle of the lane and never stopped going up until he slammed the ball through the rim.

The dunk sent fans into an uproar and his teammates into hysterics. When Selden stood at the free-throw line on the next possession, one Wichita East player turned to him and simply asked, “Why do you got to do that?”

Selden smirked.

That dunk was in the middle of a 7-0 run by the Lions, giving them a lead they would never give up. They pulled away with an 11-2 run in the second quarter, holding the Blue Aces (6-5, No. 8 in Class 6A) to only one basket in the final seven minutes of the first half.

Lawrence will play in the fifth-place game against Topeka High at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.

“Way more energetic,” Selden said of the start. “We were ready. (Thursday), we were just out of it, it seemed like. We were just barking at each other. Today we locked in.”

The highlight dunk was only the start for Selden, who added four straight points at the end of the first period and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

He’s had highlight dunks and blocks this season. His teammates see it all the time in practice. But this one was special.

“That’s a giant boost because a crazy dunk like that just gives us all energy,” said 6-5 sophomore forward Brett Chapple, who posted 12 points and eight rebounds.

After shooting 1-of-15 from the 3-point line in a three-point loss to Wichita Southeast on Thursday, the Lions (8-2, No. 4 in 6A) focused on passing the ball into the paint. Lawrence coach Mike Lewis said there was a restriction on the number of 3-pointers Friday.

“I think we had to get to that point where we had to limit what we were going to do from the outside and really go inside and play out,” Lewis said. “Our guys responded well to that.”

With a focus on close-range shots, the Lions drove downhill and found their post players for layups and dunks. In the third quarter, Chapple scored eight points.

LHS senior Jackson Mallory scored 12 points while seniors Kobe Buffalomeat and Austin Miller had seven.

It was an important bounce-back game for the Lions. Failing to make the tournament’s title game for the first time in four seasons, Selden said the team felt it let former players down.

“You can sulk and pout and hang your head,” Lewis said, “but you have to dig in and find out a way to get two wins amongst a field like this where it’s not easy.”

WICHITA EAST (51)

Michael McKinney 6-15 1-4 14, Elijah Kelly 3-11 0-0 6, Jaylen Randle 0-8 0-2 0, Zion Fralin 3-10 2-3 8, Tony Silmon 6-8 0-1 12, SaVaughn Carter 0-1 0-0 0, D’Ron Jacobs 0-1 0-0 0, Khalis Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Jayden Finney 1-3 0-0 2, James Caldwell 4-7 1-2 9, Emilio Valentin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-66 4-12 51.

LAWRENCE (67)

Braden Solko 1-2 0-0 2, Brett Chapple 6-6 0-1 12, Clarence King 3-9 0-0 6, Jackson Mallory 4-9 3-3 12, Kobe Buffalomeat 2-5 3-4 7, Anthony Selden 5-7 1-2 11, Austin Miller 1-1 5-6 7, Noah Butler 3-5 0-0 6, Trey Quartlebaum 1-3 0-0 2, Savonni Shazor 0-0 0-0 0, Van Dave Jacob 0-0 2-4 2, Jake Rajewski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-47 14-20 67.

Wichita East 14 6 16 15 — 51

Lawrence 19 11 19 18 — 67

Three-point goals: Wichita East 1-16 (McKinney); Lawrence 1-9 (Mallory). Turnovers: Wichita East 14, Lawrence 14.