Lawrence High boys basketball punches ticket to state; Roberts leads player ratings

Lawrence High boys basketball coach Mike Lewis said he was proud and he was relieved. Justin Roberts said it was hands down his favorite basketball memory and John Barbee said he was excited the moment he stepped on the floor. Ben Rajewski said it was mostly a blur.


Those were the reactions in the minutes that followed the Lions’ 60-45 sub-state championship victory against Shawnee Mission East to earn a trip to the Class 6A state tournament. It will be the Lions’ first time back at state in seven years.


The Chesty Lions know plenty about adversity and Friday was no different, playing without leading scorer Anthony Bonner (mild concussion). But that just meant the rest of the team needed to step up and that’s what they did as the Lions had a lead for the entire game.


As Tom Keegan wrote in his latest column, senior forward Logan Applegate and junior forward Price Morgan didn’t back down from SM East’s size or physicality and they both played a huge part in the Lions’ win. Those two combined for 21 points and 16 rebounds.


Lewis had said all season long that the Lions were so successful because they had 12 players who could step up on any given night. That rang true on Friday with the Lions needing a big game from everybody to earn a trip to state.


“They earned it,” Lewis said. “They deserve it. They’re a group that has stuck together and we’re blessed with a really talented group of kids on and off the floor.”


Below is video of the Lions’ celebrating their sub-state championship victory. It starts with the starters exiting the court with under a minute to go to a big ovation.



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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 boys basketball

1. Justin Roberts, jr. — Without Anthony Bonner in the lineup, many assumed Roberts would do his best to fill in for his offense. Not the case. Roberts went into distributor mode in the first half, setting up his teammates for buckets. When he did take shots, he was on the money, knocking down his first three attempts. He finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with three assists, five rebounds and a steal.


“The biggest thing for Justin was try to not to do too much,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “That’s kind of a natural thing for a young kid to have a teammate like that go down and say, ‘OK, I want to score more or I want to do more,’ and usually it’s offense. Justin stayed true to who he was and I thought he was solid and I’m just proud of the way he led our team.”


2. Logan Applegate, sr. — Applegate apparently saved his best games for the biggest moments. He matched up perfectly with SM East’s size and he took advantage, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He scored all 12 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter, to help the Lions pull away from the Lancers. It seemed like he knew the weak points in the defense and he just stood on the right block, and his teammates found him for layups.


3. Price Morgan, jr. — The 6-foot-4 forward set the tone early, blocking a shot and grabbing three defensive rebounds in the first two minutes. He also had a great high-low assist to Fred Brou in the first quarter. He finished with nine points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. One of his best moves was in the second quarter, spinning to his left for the bucket-and-the-foul.


4. John Barbee, sr. — Barbee scored the Lions’ first points, draining a three-pointer, and added one of his three assists on a three to Rajewski a few possessions later. He was limited by foul trouble in the first half because of two offensive fouls, but he was back to his strong defense in the second half, deflecting passes and nearly getting a couple of 10-second backcourt calls with his full-court press. Along with his three assists, he had 10 points and six rebounds.


5. Ben Rajewski, sr. — Late in the third quarter, the Lancers pulled within four points before Rajewski drilled a three-pointer and helped keep LHS in front. He scored seven points and had three rebounds, but some of his biggest plays were the ones off of the box score. He played incredible defense, helping out his teammates and preventing drives in the paint. He also drew a charge in the fourth quarter.


6. Anthony Harvey, jr. — Midway through the second quarter, the Lancers were on a 6-0 run and were starting to get some momentum. Then Harvey caught the ball on the right wing, pump-faked and got his defender in the air, took one dribble to his left and quickly fired away with a defender rushing towards him. Nothing but net and a huge momentum swing for LHS. Those were his only three points and he also had a rebound.


7. Fred Brou, jr. — Brou earned a spot in the starting lineup, in place of Bonner, and played with good energy. He scored two points and had three rebounds. He scored on a layup, pinning his defender to the baseline and catching a nice pass from Morgan.


8. Jackson Mallory, so. — Mallory played in the final few seconds of the first half before re-entering in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He grabbed one rebound and didn’t attempt a shot.


9. Kyle Hoffman (sr.), Tae Shorter (sr.), Kobe Buffalomeat (so.) — All of them entered in the final minute with a 17-point lead to help run out the clock.


• Next up: Wednesday at state. Record: 21-1.
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