Lawrence High’s boys basketball team has faced some highly ranked teams this season, and have beat all of them.


But Friday’s matchup against Olathe East had a little different feel to it. The Lions got some revenge for their sub-state title loss last year by winning 72-55, but I thought they played some of their best basketball of the season.


The first quarter was the best eight minutes of high school basketball I’ve seen this year. Both teams were up-and-down the court so fast that heads were moving in the stands like sprinkler heads. But the Lions never slowed down. They continued to push the throttle on offense throughout the night, and their defense tightened up.


“This atmosphere on a Friday night over here with two good basketball teams, this is what it’s all about,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “This is varsity basketball at its finest. I’m just really happy and proud of the way our guys played.”


Now LHS gets to take a 10-0 record into tournament week, where the Lions will get some quality competition and have potential matchups against K.C. Washington (7-1) and Wichita East (9-0, ranked No. 1 in 6A).


Lawrence’s girls basketball team fought hard in its 45-42 loss to Olathe East, but I think a big key is that the Lions still have a lot of fight in them.


I’ve noted in the past that they’ve played one of the hardest schedules around this season, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Lions respond in the second half of their year when it gets a little easier and they get a lot more practice time before they return to the court.


In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends and I’m bringing back the high school ratings for this basketball season. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Marissa Pope, sr. — In her return to the court after missing Tuesday’s game, Pope was the engine of the Lions’ offense. She scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.


2. E’lease Stafford, fr. — Stafford had some great moments, and some not so great moments. She scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. She wasn’t afraid to drive to the rim and played solid defense. However, when Pope was out with foul trouble, she picked up most of the ball handling responsibilities and had seven turnovers.


3. Matia Finley, sr. — Finley wasn’t afraid to chase down loose balls and dive on the court. The senior grabbed six rebounds and scored one point. She also played strong defense in the post, not allowing the Hawks any chances at open layups.


4. Olivia Lemus, so. — Lemus started in place of Skylar Drum, and played well. She scored six points and played good defense.


5. Emma Bentzinger, jr. — It’s the first time I’ve seen her play in a varsity game, and she played well in the low post. She scored two points on a putback, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot.


6. Rebecca Finley, sr. — Finley played solid defense off of the bench and grabbed three rebounds. She scored her only basket in the third quarter on a layup.


7. Devon Spoonhunter, jr. — Spoonhunter scored four points and added five rebounds. She left the game in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury, so it was a good sign that she returned in the second half.


8. Madison McKinney, so. — McKinney was the only Lion to step on the court and not score a point, but she was solid off of the bench. She grabbed three rebounds and played solid defense at the top of the Lions’ zone.


• Next up: Jan. 29 vs. TBA at Free State Winter Classic. Record: 1-8.

Lawrence High boys basketball

1. Anthony Bonner, sr. — Bonner started fast and never slowed down on Friday. He missed his first shot and dominated afterward, scoring 15 points in the first half. To open the fourth quarter, LHS point guard Justin Roberts tossed a lob from a sideline out of bounds play by the Lions’ bench and Bonner converted with a layup-and-the-foul. He finished with a game-high 22 points, two rebounds and three assists.


2. Justin Roberts, jr. — The Lions’ point guard set the tempo in the first quarter. Not counting two free throws from Bonner before the game started because of a pre-game technical foul, Roberts scored the first seven for points for the Lions. In the second half, he opened with a reverse layup. He finished with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.


“I just wanted to be aggressive and do whatever it took to get the team a win,” Roberts said. “Whether it was passing the ball or shooting the ball, I just had some open shots so I took them.”


3. John Barbee, sr. — Barbee did a little bit of everything for the Lions on Friday. He had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two steals and an assist. Against teams with tall post players, Barbee has found ways to pick up rebounds in traffic and he also frustrates guards by playing passing lanes.


4. Price Morgan, jr. — The junior forward played well against Olathe East’s forwards on defense, and he added six points, four rebounds and two steals. In three straight possessions in the first quarter, he grabbed a defensive rebound, had a steal and drew a charge. But Morgan’s biggest play was a slam in the final minutes with a 6-foot-8 forward trying to block him. It was a big exclamation point on the victory.


5. Ben Rajewski, sr. — You could tell Rajewski was bound to have a good shooting day when his first three-pointer was halfway down before it came back up. That was his only miss as he drilled two huge threes in the third quarter off of screens. He scored eight of the Lions’ 16 points in the third quarter.


6. Anthony Harvey, jr. — Harvey brought a lot of energy off of the bench. He scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and had an assist. When Roberts picked up a couple of quick fouls in the third quarter, Harvey ran the offense during a 10-2 run.


7. Logan Applegate, sr. — He was playing sick, but you couldn’t notice it by the way he played. He grabbed four rebounds, and was tough in the post against O-East’s bigs. He also had to play a lot of minutes in the third quarter when Morgan ran into foul trouble.


8. Jackson Mallory, so. — Mallory played solid defense off of the bench, but didn’t shoot the ball or record any stats.


• Next up: 5 p.m. Thursday vs. Wichita Southeast at Topeka Invitational Tournament. Record: 10-0.
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