Kansas City, Mo. ? Free State High’s boys basketball team received the honor of participating in the inaugural Best of the Midwest Showcase Saturday at Municipal Auditorium, and the Firebirds did not disappoint, defeating Lansing, 60-46.

FSHS hit its first four shots to begin on a 10-3 run and started the second quarter on a 9-2 spurt to create a double-digit cushion the rest of the way against the defending Class 5A state champs.

“We saw shots go in right off the bat, and that’s a contagious thing,” Free State coach Chuck Law said. “When shots aren’t going in, it adds pressure to everybody who gets in the game. When shots go in ahead of you, that breeds confidence.”

Justin Narcomey and Jack Raney each knocked down three-pointers in the first two minutes, and Sloan Thomsen did all of the damage himself from behind the arc in the second quarter. Thomsen came off the bench to nail four of his five treys in the second quarter and finished with 15 points.

“He can do that, and we know he’s capable of that,” Law said. “He’s shown it in practice, especially of late.”

When Thomsen and the Firebirds weren’t launching from long distance, Hunter Gudde was getting to the hole for traditional three-point plays. Gudde led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. The FSHS junior converted two and-one plays but also was able to get plenty of uncontested looks close to the basket.

Gudde was on the other end of four of Weston Hack’s team-high five assists, three of which were on inbound plays.

“I wish I could take credit for that stuff, but that was mostly instinctive stuff by them,” Law said.

While Hack struggled from the field, the senior forward filled the stat sheet with six rebounds and three steals to go with eight points.

“I was able to impact the game in some other areas,” Hack said. “I was finding my teammates open a lot and that’s what I’ve got to do if my shot is not going in or if I’m not playing well.”

Hack, Gudde and Thomsen accounted for 45 of Free State’s 60 points, but three other Firebirds played a crucial role in shutting down Lansing’s top-scoring threat.

Lansing’s Sam Lorenzen got off to a hot start from three, draining three of his first four attempts from distance, but Law took notice. Law set the Firebirds up in box and one with Andrew Keating, Jay Dineen and Jacob Pavlyak all trading off on Lorenzen.

Lorenzen was off the mark on seven of his eight three-pointers after the box-and-one was implemented.

“Whenever you can take someone out that can shoot that well out their game and make them feel a little uncomfortable, it’s always good to have that capability,” Keating said.

“I knew coming into the game that this would be a good place to play at, but actually being here it’s completely different from what I imagined,” Keating said. “It was an awesome experience.”

The Firebirds will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday at Shawnee Mission Northwest.

FREE STATE (60)

Jay Dineen 2-3 0-0 4, Andrew Keating 1-2 0-0 2, Kristian Rawls 0-0 2-2 2, Shannon Cordes 0-0 1-2 1, Weston Hack 4-11 0-0 8, Justin Narcomey 1-3 0-0 3, Hunter Gudde 8-12 6-8 22, Jack Raney 1-2 0-0 3, Sloan Thomsen 5-7 0-0 15. Team 22-40 9-12 60.

LANSING (46)

Trevor Young 2-6 0-0 4, Krystian Abbott 2-9 0-0 6, Sam Lorenzen 5-14 0-0 14, Kenneth Banks 5-8 1-2 11, Josh Robinson 2-5 0-0 6, Quinton McQuillan 1-3 0-0 2, Jalen Douglas 1-1 1-1 3. Team 18-43 2-3 46.

Free State 15 21 9 15 — 60

Lansing 13 10 8 15 — 46

Three-point goals: Free State 7-11 (Thomsen 5, Raney, Narcomey), Lansing 8-24 (Lorenzen 4, Abbott 2, Robinson 2).