Lawrence High junior Brett Chapple looks to pass in the second half of the Lions' 72-64 win over Shawnee Mission North on Friday.

OVERLAND PARK — The Lawrence High boys basketball team kept Shawnee Mission North at arm’s length for the better part of three quarters, but the Lions suddenly saw their lead cut to three with six minutes to go after North junior Jarrett Hensley scored seven straight points to open the fourth.

Hensley — a 6-foot-7 forward — poured in a game-high 26 points and was getting to the rim at will, but the Lions had an effective player in the post that they were able to go to as well. After the Indians pulled within three, LHS junior Brett Chapple scored three straight buckets with two tip-ins and a transition layup to push the lead back to nine. Chapple recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to power the Lions (6-3 overall, 4-1 in Sunflower League play) to a 72-64 win over the Indians.

“It helped us pull away and get some more confidence,” Chapple said. “My teammates were finding me up the floor and I was just getting easy layups.”

Chapple’s unselfishness blended in in what was a balanced night offensively for the Lions. Lawrence High had four players score in double figures. Reserves Clarence King and Van Dave Jacob scored 15 points apiece to lead the Lions, and Anthony Selden added 10 — eight of which came on rim-rocking dunks.

“We’re playing more as a team and we’re taking smarter shots,” Chapple said. “We’re not making silly mistakes that hurt us early in the year when we had some losses. We’re just being smarter and playing better as a team.”

Lawrence High coach Mike Lewis was pleased to see some fight from his team when the Lions (ranked No. 7 in 6A) had to battle some adversity in the fourth quarter, but he gave plenty of credit to SM North (3-5, 3-2) for making them earn the victory.

“I was just impressed with the Shawnee Mission North team with the way they just fought. It was just a great Friday night game in terms of the energy and the fight between both teams,” Lewis said. “That’s why Chapple gets those six points because he’s a fighter and he’s in that position to rebound and get out and go. It’s just a real spark for us.”

The Lions will now gear up to play Topeka High at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Topeka Invitational at Highland Park. Lawrence High is riding a four-game winning streak into the tournament.

“We just have to look at this as a team and just look at all the points where we want to stay positive and enjoy the good moments,” Lewis said. “But it’s also the time of the year to take the negative plays and say, ‘OK. This is what we need to do.’ I like the way our guys are being coachable and I like the way we’re moving.”

LAWRENCE HIGH (72)

Van Dave Jacob 3-6 9-14 15, Clarence King 5-8 2-2 15, Anthony Selden 5-6 0-2 10, Zeke Mayo 3-5 0-0 8, Brett Chapple 6-7 1-2 13, Trey Quartlebaum 2-8 3-4 9, Jake Rajewski 1-3 0-0 2, Savonni Shazor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 15-24 72.

SHAWNEE MISSION NORTH (64)

Tremaine Jackson 2-3 2-2 6, Zach Nelson 1-9 2-2 4, KT Harris 4-10 1-4 10, Amari Williams 5-7 3-3 13, Jackson Bell 0-0 0-0 0, Tommy Faseru 1-3 0-0 2, Peyton Downey 1-1 0-0 2, Ray Verdugo 0-0 0-0 0, Jarrett Hensley 9-16 10-14 27. Totals 23-49 18-25 64.

Lawrence 17 16 18 21 — 72

SM North 11 14 16 23 — 64

3-point goals: LHS 7-15 (King 3, Quartlebaum 2, Mayo 2); SMN 2-13 (Williams, Harris). Fouled out: Tremaine Jackson, Zach Nelson, SMN. Turnovers: LHS 16, SMN 12.