photo by: Chris Duderstadt

Lawrence High sophomore Zeke Mayo leads the Lions on a fast break in the first half of a 75-34 victory over Wichita South on Wednesday in the Class 6A sub-state semifinals. Mayo led all scorers with 21 points.

While it was just three minutes into Wednesday night’s Class 6A sub-state semifinal matchup between the Lawrence High boys basketball team and Wichita South, momentum could have easily swung in favor of the Titans early on when LHS senior Clarence King was given a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a missed dunk.

Wichita South’s Makye Loggin tied the game by hitting two free throws, but the Lions were anything but fazed. Lawrence High held Wichita South scoreless for the rest of the first quarter en route to a 75-34 victory. The fourth-seeded Lions (18-3) went on a 19-0 run that stretched into the second quarter.

“After that (the technical foul), we said, ‘Let’s just play harder.’ I didn’t feel like it was a technical, but either way, we’ve got to keep playing,” King said. “We’ve got to play hard and play good on defense and play good on offense. We did that.”

King, who tallied 11 points, was one of three LHS players who scored in double figures. The dynamic duo of Zeke Mayo and Trey Quartlebaum paced LHS with 21 and 17 points, respectively.

The Lions were dialed in offensively as they built a 48-15 halftime lead, but the defensive effort was what was most encouraging to LHS coach Mike Lewis. The trio of Mayo, Quartlebaum and King gave the Titans all they could handle on the perimeter, and Eric Galbreath set the tone down low with four blocks.

“He was great,” said Lewis of Galbreath. “He blocked some shots. He made four straight free throws. He just had some really good energy, acted like a senior and played hard. I’m really proud of Eric with how he stuck to our game plan with what we wanted to do defensively.”

Lewis added, “I’m really proud of all of our guys. They stepped up and contributed. I thought we were sound defensively, played hard and, for the most part, played well as a team.”

Although LHS made quick work of Wichita South, the Lions weren’t expecting to have an easy go of it in the sub-state semifinal. The 13th-seeded Titans (9-12) had the Lions’ full attention after they upset Wichita Southeast, 75-71, to close out the regular season.

The Titans were winners of three straight entering the postseason, but they had to play without their top two leading scorers against the Lions. Wichita South coach Chuck Gunter told the Journal-World that Keenan Miller and Karon Sears were both held out of action due to disciplinary reasons. Miller averaged 20.8 points per game in the regular season.

“We didn’t know that until we came out to warm up with 40 minutes on the clock,” Lewis said. “That was a last-second decision on their part. We had to adjust a little bit, but in those situations, we rewind and just really worry about ourselves and what we want to accomplish, get into the game and make adjustments from there.”

The Lions will try to punch their ticket to the 6A state tournament at 7 p.m. Friday when they play host to fifth-seeded Garden City (17-4). The Buffaloes defeated Liberal, 48-30, on Wednesday.

“It will be our seniors’ last game in The Jungle,” Lewis said. “We’ll be ready to play.”

Lawrence High 21 27 18 9 — 75

Wichita South 6 9 11 8 — 34

Lawrence High (75)

Zeke Mayo 9-13 1-1 21, Clarence King 4-7 2-2 11, Brett Chapple 1-2 0-0 2, Trey Quartlebaum 5-9 5-5 17, Mayson Quartlebaum 2-6 0-0 5, Bryant Graham 2-2 1-2 6, Willie Dotson 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Galbreath 0-1 4-4 4 Garrett Hart 0-2 2-2 2, Willie Dotson 1-4 0-0 3, Devin Neal 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Mallory 1-1 0-1 2, Bryce Johnson 0-0 2-4 2. Totals: 25-48 17-21 75.

Wichita South (34)

Makye Loggins 2-11 2-2 6, Malik Storey 1-2 0-0 2, Cordell Perry 3-13 3-5 9, Darryon Frierson 3-5 0-1 6, Abel Jones 1-3 0-0 2, Jamari Robinson 0-4 1-2 1, Austin Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Lamonte Mallette 1-3 0-0 2, Elijah Brunt 2-2 0-0 4, Romao Townes 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 14-48 6-10 34.

3-point goals: Lawrence High 8-18 (Zeke Mayo 2, Trey Quartlebaum 2, Clarence King 1, Bryant Graham 1, Willie Dotson 1, Mayson Quartlebaum 1); Wichita South 0-7. Turnovers: Lawrence High 7, Wichita South 13. Fouled out: None.