Lawrence High boys hoops advances to state semifinals; Morgan leads player rankings

Among the eight boys basketball state tournament classes, two of the top seeded teams lost in the first round.


For Lawrence High’s boys basketball team, it’s not easy playing in the 3:00 p.m. game because there’s not much energy in the gym. It’s not easy playing a team that’s unfamiliar. And of course, it’s not easy to play a team with nothing to lose as the eight seed.


The Lions didn’t have their best game, but the state tournament is all about surviving and advancing, and that’s what they did in a 55-46 win against Dodge City on Thursday at Koch Arena in Wichita.


“It’s a sense of relief in a way,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “You should be able to enjoy it a little bit more, but I’ll be honest with you, it’s just more relief. Had a lot of friends say, ‘Enjoy the moment.’ We’re trying to enjoy the moment but it’s a relief to just get that one out of the way. The 3:00 game, the 1-8 matchup, we can kind of go on and on about that.”


The Lions were led by seniors Price Morgan (22 points, six rebounds) and Justin Roberts (18 points, four assists). No surprise it was the two guys who started for the Lions on last season’s state runner-up team.


“They were very loose (before the game) and that starts with top down,” Lewis said. “If you look at Justin and Price, and if they were kind of wound up and tight, how that could trickle down.”


Now for a look ahead to the state semifinal games:


#1 Lawrence (21-2) vs. #4 Wichita Southeast (19-4) at 4:45 p.m. — It’s a rematch of the 2008 state title game, when the Golden Buffaloes won by 21 points. Wichita Southeast advanced to the semifinals with a 78-61 victory against Olathe East on Thursday. Senior point guard Jerrick Harding scored a ridiculous 42 points, two short of the Class 6A state tournament record. What makes him so dangerous is his ability to score from anywhere on the court, his speed and his ball handling to dribble past help defenders. The Lions are plenty familiar with him. Against LHS, Harding scored 41 points in the first round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament last season. This year, he has help with sophomore wing Isreal Barnes, a transfer from Sunrise Christian prep, who scored 20 points against O-East.


#2 Blue Valley Northwest (19-4) vs. #3 Shawnee Mission North (19-4) at 8:15 p.m. — The Huskies moved on from the quarterfinals with a 70-51 win over Wichita South. Star guard Darien Jackson scored 15 points with a few highlight dunks, two blocks from behind at the rim, and six steals. Joseph Pleasant added a team-high 16 points in the victory. SM North knocked off the defending state champions, Wichita East, in a thrilling 55-52 victory. The Indians led by 15 points early in the fourth quarter before East had two shot attempts to tie in the final minute. Michael Weathers led with 24 points and his twin, Marcus, had 21 points.
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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. 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. Price Morgan, sr. — It’s hard to find someone playing better than Morgan in the past few weeks. He scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, including 13 of Lawrence’s 18 points in the second quarter. He added six rebounds and two steals. Morgan said his big first half felt a little “quieter” than his 18-point first half in the City Showdown two weeks ago.


“He was solid as he has been now for a few weeks,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “We needed him to be. That’s the type of kid who steps up in the state tournament. He’s physical, which is great against Dodge City. He can handle the physicality. He can finish. He can play in space. Just a really tough basketball player.”


2. Justin Roberts, sr. — Hard to have a better start than Roberts in the first two minutes, scoring on a transition layup while being fouled and drilling a three-pointer from the top of the arc. His shot was on and off throughout the contest (6-of-14, 2-of-8 from three) but he did a good job of helping the Lions fight through Dodge City’s zone defense. He had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists.


3. Jackson Mallory, jr. — Mallory scored all seven of his points in the second half, but his biggest plays were on the defensive end of the court. Despite running into a little foul trouble early in the second half, he had a game-high eight rebounds and five steals.


4. Fred Brou, sr. — On offense, Brou had a little trouble getting into a rhythm. One attempt for a dunk just slipped out of his hand. But he was big on defense, blocking three shots — two of them into press row. He added four points, three rebounds and two assists.




5. Anthony Harvey, sr. — Harvey had a gash his elbow from the first play of the game, colliding with a ref. He was forced to change jerseys to 15 because of the blood. His shot never dropped, missing three triples, but he had two rebounds and two assists.


6. Kobe Buffalomeat, jr. — Using his size inside, Buffalomeat scored on a layup near the end of the first quarter. He also had a block in 13 minutes on the court.


7. Braden Solko, jr. — In the first half, Solko was averaging about a foul per minute when he was on the court. He made a layup in the third quarter, pump-faking a defender in the air for an open look.


8. Noah Butler, fr. — In four minutes, Butler didn’t attempt any shots but he grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot at the rim.


• Next up: 4:45 p.m. Friday vs. Wichita Southeast in 6A state semifinals. Record: 21-2.
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