The game was already out of reach, but Anthony Selden wasn’t passing up the chance.

Late in Lawrence High’s 67-50 win over Olathe East on Tuesday, the senior barreled toward the hoop in transition, catching a pass with no defenders in front of him.

Selden went up and pulled the ball back with his right arm, forcefully slamming it into the hoop for his loudest points of the game.

“Believe me, I had already missed two (dunks) in the game,” said Selden, who scored eight points. “That one was perfect.”

The dunk sent an already enthused home crowd into a frenzy and even fired up his teammates long until after the game was over.

Before hustling over to the students after the final buzzer, Selden was grabbed by Bryce Johnson. The 6-foot-3 sophomore mimicked Selden’s slam, flashing a big smile as he laughed with the senior.

“Bryce is always hype on the bench, trying to hype me up to dunk everything,” Selden joked. “I appreciate that, even though it gets a little annoying.”

Perhaps most importantly though, the dunk mirrored the energy with which his team had just played — at least for the final 16 minutes.

After committing 10 turnovers and shooting just 2 for 13 from 3 in the first half, the Lions (5-3, 3-1 in Sunflower League) took control of the game. They used a 13-1 third-quarter spurt to take the lead and added two more buckets in the final minute of the period.

First, Brett Chapple stole an extra possession and made a 2-pointer. The Lions then forced a miss and Trey Quartlebaum (13 points) scored at the buzzer to put LHS up seven.

“The hustle plays and the 50-50 balls that we really attacked, I was really proud of,” said coach Mike Lewis after the game. “That created some momentum for us and some energy.”

At that point, LHS was off and rolling.

The Lions later stretched the lead out to 10 on a floater by Zeke Mayo. A few possessions later, it was up to 13 on a free throw from Clarence King.

Senior guard Van Dave Jacob, who was held to just one shot attempt in the first half, took over in the second, scoring 15 of his 19 points, which included a dazzling array of spin moves and finishes.

“I’m a small guy, so if everyone’s going to try to block me, then I have to do another move,” said the 5-foot-6 Jacob. “I just had to go out there and play my best, help the team win and just be a good leader.”

Lewis called the performance another step in the right direction for Jacob, who made his debut Friday in a blowout win over Gardner-Edgerton.

Overall, the LHS coach was pleased with the way his team attacked the rim, which included several drives from the senior guard.

“We talk about that, the opportunity to count those two-point baskets,” Lewis said. “That’s an improvement that we’ll continue to focus on. … Good aggressive plays.”

As for the only matter left to settle, that was debated between Selden and King.

Just outside the locker room after the game, Selden was asked if he was the best dunker on the team. King, who stood some 10 feet away, patted himself on the chest.

Selden wasn’t having any of it.

“It’s me,” Selden quickly deadpanned. “Second goes to him.”

Olathe East (50)

KT Raimey 3-14 3-4 10, Sam Carroll 2-8 1-3 6, Luke Stuewe 3-6 2-2 8, Charlie Bell 5-7 4-6 15, Kaleb Mackey 3-8 2-3 8, Robert Kullberg 0-0 1-4 1, Kamari Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0, Dakota La Gore 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 17-44 13-23 50.

Lawrence (67)

Anthony Selden 3-8 1-3 8, Brett Chapple 3-7 0-0 6, Trey Quartlebaum 5-13 3-4 13, Jake Rajewski 2-4 2-2 8, Savonni Shazor 0-3 0-0 0, Clarence King 4-9 1-2 9, Van Dave Jacob 6-11 7-9 19, Zeke Mayo 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 25-59 14-22.

Olathe East 10 10 14 16 — 50

Lawrence 11 10 20 26 — 67

Three-point goals: Olathe East 3-17 (Raimey, Carroll, Bell 1); Lawrence 3-18 (Rajewski 2, Selden 1). Fouled out: Raimey, Mackey. Turnovers: Olathe East 16, Lawrence 14.