Lawrence High sophomore Brett Chapple (12) gets a layup on a fast break in the Lions' 62-52 win against Shawnee Mission Northwest in the Class 6A sub-state semifinals on Wednesday at LHS.

When confronted with the reality that their high school careers could be over without a strong second half, the seniors on Lawrence High’s boys basketball team took it upon themselves to prolong the Lions’ season in Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal match-up against Shawnee Mission Northwest.

The No. 2-seeded Lions (14-7, ranked No. 8 in 6A) faced a nine-point halftime deficit on their home court, but locked down defensively after the break to earn a 62-52 victory over the Cougars.

“The main focus in halftime was to step up our defense, and our defense would transition to offense,” LHS senior Kobe Buffalomeat said.

Buffalomeat had a hot start to the first half, as he was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field to score nine of the Lions’ 20 points before the break. The 6-foot-7 forward continued to assert himself in the second half, and finished 9-for-10 with a game-high 19 points.

“I actually posted up for once,” Buffalomeat said. “They fed me the ball. They did a good job, and I just did my job from there.”

Senior point guard Jackson Mallory was one of the LHS guards who made a conservative effort to get the ball to the Lions’ big man. Mallory stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, six steals and four assists.

“Jackson acted like a senior tonight, and what I mean by that is that he refused to lose,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “I’m more impressed with his demeanor on the defensive end, and what I mean by his demeanor is just his want-to and his energy to go get the basketball and rebound the ball.”

Mallory was active on the defensive end from the get-go in the second half, as he came up with three steals in the first two minutes of the third quarter. The Lions turned a 29-20 halftime deficit to a 39-33 lead by the end of the third quarter.

“I just knew that this could be my last high school game, so I definitely did not want that to happen,” Mallory said. “I did not want it to end in Lawrence. We need to get to Wichita (site of the 6A state basketball tournament), so I have to do what I have to do to get my team there.”

While the Cougars (7-14) were still within striking distance after three quarters, they weren’t for long thanks to the hot hand of LHS sharp-shooting guard Austin Miller. The 5-foot-7 senior capitalized on the Cougars’ added attention to Buffalomeat by knocking down three of his four 3-pointers in the first four minutes in the fourth. Miller finished with 14 points, and Brett Chapple rounded out the Lions in double figures with 10.

“I think inside-out is the way to play because then if you get the inside man working, a lot of people come in and crash and the back side wing is usually open for a good kick-out three,” Buffalomeat said.

The team standing between the Lions and a third straight trip to state is No. 3 seed SM East (13-8), who earned a 66-46 victory over SM North on Wednesday. The Lions will try to avenge a 62-56 overtime road loss to the Lancers that the suffered on Feb. 21.

“We have to finish, and we have to put ourselves in a position where we can finish and win the game and have the momentum going our way. We just didn’t finish when we were there,” Lewis said.

SM NORTHWEST (52)

Randall Moore Jr. 2-4 2-2 7, Cole Biery 0-1 0-0 0, Colton Skeens 4-9 0-0 10, Adam Gleason 0-1 0-0 0, George Specht 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Eskina 0-0 0-0 0, C.C. Ghilardi 3-9 2-2 11, Alex Oleson 4-8 0-0 8, Noah Kendall 3-5 2-2 8, Austin Heinisch 0-4 0-0 0, Jaylen Love 4-7 0-0 8. Totals: 20-48 6-6 52.

LAWRENCE (62)

Braden Solko 1-1 0-0 2, Austin Miller 4-9 0-0 14, Brett Chapple 4-9 2-3 10, Anthony Selden 1-4 3-4 5, Trey Quartlebaum 0-2 0-0 0, Clarence King 2-4 0-0 4, Noah Butler 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Mallory 4-5 0-0 8, Kobe Buffalomeat 9-10 1-1 19, Jacob Van Dave 0-0 0-0 0, Shazor Savonni 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-45 6-8 62.

SM Northwest 9 20 4 19 — 52

Lawrence 11 9 19 23 — 62

Three-point goals: SM Northwest 6-20 (Ghilardi 3, Skeens 2, Moore Jr.); Lawrence 4-13 (Miller 4). Fouled out: None. Turnovers: SM Northwest 19, Lawrence 13.