Free State High sophomore Jacob Pavlyak (20) floats past Leavenworth senior Jeromie Simmons (35) as he looks for his shot during their game Tuesday evening in Leavenworth.

Enough was enough. Free State High’s boys basketball players were ready to put their offensive problems aside in the second half against Leavenworth on Tuesday.

The Firebirds, who have struggled to create offense in their last few games, found enough ways to score for a 57-49 road victory at Leavenworth, earning their first Sunflower League victory and snapping a two-game losing streak.

“We needed it,” senior Weston Hack summed up. Hack led Free State with a game-high 21 points.

The Firebirds (4-3) led by one point at halftime before junior guard Hunter Gudde gave his team the boost it was looking for offensively.

Gudde scored eight points in the third quarter, including six straight in the middle of the period. He was free to roam the baseline against Leavenworth’s zone defense, and he continued to attack the basket for layups. He also dished two assists, both to Hack for layups.

“I just started out slow. I didn’t take any shots in the first half,” said Gudde, who finished with nine points, six rebounds and five assists. “Then I just got a couple of good looks down low, and they gave me the ball down there. It boosted my confidence.”

In the final minute of the third quarter, sophomore forward Jay Dineen scored on a spinning layup-and-the-foul drive, then sophomore guard Jacob Pavlyak drilled a three-pointer from the wing at the buzzer.

In the fourth quarter, junior forward Chrision Wilburn cut to the rim for layups on three straight possessions, giving the Firebirds a 45-32 lead. The Pioneers cut the score to six with 2:40 left, but the Firebirds made enough free throws to close the game out.

“We got some good cutting action going,” FSHS coach Chuck Law said. “We got some guys penetrating to the goal. We had some guys finish at the rim tonight, something we’ve had difficulty doing against size in the two or three games since Christmas break. That was nice to see.”

Free State had problems scoring against Leavenworth’s zone in the first half. Pavlyak scored five straight points to start the second quarter, but the Firebirds had a four-minute stretch in the second quarter with four missed three-pointers and two turnovers.

“It sort of caught us off guard,” Hack said. “I don’t even know if it was a 1-3-1 or a 2-3 (zone). We didn’t really know how to attack it at first. But once we started going, we started attacking and penetrating a little bit. It opened up for us, and we started to get some easy buckets.”

The Pioneers (1-6) had a response for nearly every Free State momentum swing in the first three quarters, with hot shooting from junior Avery Bartlett and senior Jeromie Simmons. The two guards shot a combined 6-for-11 behind the three-point arc, despite the Firebirds’ best efforts to deny them the ball.

But when the Firebirds needed to score in the game’s biggest moments, they changed their fortune and just simply made plays.

“You can cook things up defensively as much as you can, but teams are going to score the ball,” Law said. “We’ve been anemic on offense, which has been our problem the last couple of games in particular. It was nice to see the ball go in the basket a little bit more tonight.”

The Firebirds will play host to Olathe Northwest at 7 p.m. Friday.

FREE STATE (57)

Andrew Keating 0-1 0-0 0, Weston Hack 7-13 6-8 21, Justin Narcomey 2-7 0-0 5, Hunter Gudde 3-4 3-4 9, Jack Raney 0-0 0-0 0, Chrision Wilburn 4-4 1-2 9, Darian Lewis 0-0 1-2 1, Zion Bowlin 0-1 0-0 0, Shannon Cordes 0-0 1-4 1, Sloan Thomsen 0-3 0-0 0, Jacob Pavlyak 3-4 1-2 9, Jay Dineen 1-1 0-1 2, Caleb Holland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-38 13-23 57.

LEAVENWORTH (49)

Jordan Berry 1-1 4-4 6, Avery Bartlett 4-9 0-0 12, Jerry Hanks 5-7 0-1 11, Daniel Griese 0-0 0-0 0, Jeromie Simmons 6-17 3-3 19, Larry Simpson 1-2 2-4 4, Joseph Clark 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-37 9-12 49.

Free State 8 11 18 20 — 57

Leavenworth 12 6 10 19 — 49

Three-point goals: Free State 4-17 (Pavlyak 2, Hack, Narcomey); Leavenworth 6-12 (Bartlett 4, Simmons 2). Turnovers: Free State 6, Leavenworth 10.