photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State boys basketball coach Sam Stroh instructs his team against Blue Valley in the Saints Classic at St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 20, 2017.

Free State’s boys basketball coach Sam Stroh understands how difficult it can be to win in the Sunflower League, especially on the road.

Stroh won’t take any victory for granted, particularly in a season when his team is trying to replace nearly everyone from last year’s league-winning squad. Yet, Stroh knows that Free State has plenty to learn from its 50-44 road win over Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday night.

In fact, in his mind, the Firebirds are pretty fortunate that they are starting the year off with a 2-0 clip, including 1-0 in the Sunflower League.

“I don’t know if we deserved to win the game, but I was happy we came out with a win,” Stroh said. “We have a long way to go, and we didn’t look like the team we did against Blue Springs. It is only game two, and we have another week to get ready for another league game.”

In the season opener, Free State rolled past Blue Springs for a 75-51 win during the 810 Varsity Tipoff Classic.

For a moment, the Firebirds appeared poised for a similar fate by scoring the first eight points of the contest. Freshman Mozae Downing canned a triple to get things started, as sophomore Andrew Piper and junior DK Middleton followed suit with a bucket for each of them.

The Firebirds, who are ranked No. 4 in Class 6A via the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, leaned on their defense to jump out to a 15-3 advantage.

“(The defense) is what won us the game,” Middleton said.

The Vikings used more ball-screen action, and began clawing their way back into the game after the early struggles.

Shawnee Mission West pulled within one point at the end of the third quarter, which forced FSHS to respond amid an unfamiliar situation. Junior Ethan Lincoln, senior Noah Butler and Piper each tallied a bucket during Free State’s 6-0 run within the first two-plus minutes of the final quarter.

“This is basically the JV team from last year and they have never been in this type of situation,” Stroh said. “It is one thing to try and simulate it in practice, but that was big.”

Shawnee Mission West surged back to take a one-point lead with 1:50 left to play, setting the stage for Middleton to take over down the stretch. Middleton scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the final 94 seconds.

“I had to pick it up, I played really bad in the beginning,” Middleton said.

In the end, Free State made enough plays down the stretch to remain undefeated. And the Firebirds can still use it as a learning experience, as well.

“They have done some good things, but also done some things that we can correct ourselves,” Stroh said. “We did some good things to get us the win, we will take it and get out.”

Free State plays host to Gardner-Edgerton at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Free State (50)

Mozae Downing 2-6 1-2 6, Noah Butler 2-8 2-4 6, DK Middleton 3-7 9-13 15, Andrew Piper 3-5 0-0 6, Ethan Lincoln 3-6 1-2 9, Wyatt Furland 0-1 0-1 0, Ryan Stacey 3-6 0-0 7, Jaxson Webb 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 16-40 14-24 50.

Shawnee Mission West (44)

Darion Wesson 1-6 2-2 5, CJ Callaghan 0-2 0-0 0, Mitch Loe 2-8 2-2 7, Logan Wieneke 2-7 2-2, Eric Rhymes 3-14 5-7 13, Treyvon Gilyard 2-3 0-0, Kobe McGowan 0-2 1-2 1, Emilio Elliott Jr. 2-7 3-6 7.

Free State 15 7 7 21 — 50

SM West 3 11 14 16 — 44

3-point goals: Free State 4-9 (Downing, Lincoln 2, Stacey); SM West 5-19 (Wesson, Loe, Wieneke, Rhymes 2). Turnovers: Free State 11, Northwest 10.