Lions upset by Vikings in 57-55 road defeat

Brett Chapple (12) dribbles the ball at the top of the key in a game at Shawnee Mission West, February 8, 2019.

OVERLAND PARK – The Shawnee Mission West security guard could only hold back the student section for so long. As Zeke Mayo’s half-court shot banked off the rim, the Vikings stormed their home court as they pulled off an upset over the fourth-ranked Lawrence High boys basketball team.

Lawrence fell 57-55 to Shawnee Mission West Friday evening after a last-second basket by Eric Rhymes went on to seal the win. The Lions (12-3, 5-2 Sunflower League) have now dropped two of their last three games since winning 11 contests in a row.

“At Lawrence High School, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot. We’re the team that everybody wants to beat,” LHS head coach Mike Lewis said. “You have to be prepared for that.”

The Vikings (9-8, 4-6) came out shooting strong, leading after the first buzzer by five. They entered the half with seven 3-pointers on nine attempts tied with the Lions at 31.

“(West) shot the ball extremely well in the first half,” Lewis said. “We were probably lucky to have it tied.”

Lawrence responded with a 16-point third quarter to take a 3-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. Brett Chapple scored 6 points without a miss on three tries, and Mayo scored 8 points with a pair of triples.

Shawnee Mission West took the lead with under three minutes to go in the game with a basket by Rhymes, but the Lions tied things back up with a triple from Mayo.

On the ensuing possession, Lawrence started by fouling twice to put them in position to send West to the line to put them at six fouls as a team. With the next foul to send the Vikings into the bonus, Rhymes received the inbound and took the ball to the basket with a shot over defender Eric Galbreath at the rim.

The Lions finished the second half with a 37 percent clip from the field.

“Comes down to the wire, (Rhymes) makes a really athletic play, and you lose,” Lewis said. “Down to the wire, we had a couple bad shots that really weren’t what we were trying to accomplish, and (they) might have cost us.”

Mayo finished with 21 points on 13 shots, netting four triples. Clarence King scored 11 points. Chapple and Trey Quartlebaum each netted 9 points. Chapple also dished out a pair of assists in the first half on 3-pointers by Mayo.

“We go through this point like every year,” Quartlebaum said. “We’re experienced, I think we’ll bounce back good. We got a good team to look forward to against Free State, so we should be ready.”

Lawrence plays host to Free State at 7 p.m. Monday.

Lawrence (55)

Zeke Mayo 8-13 1-1 21; Clarence King 4-8 3-3 11; Brett Chapple 4-6 1-2 9; Trey Quartlebaum 3-8 1-1 9; Mayson Quartlebaum 1-8 0-0 2; Willie Dotson 0-1 0-0 0; Peyton Mallory 0-1 0-0 0; Bryant Graham 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 21-48 6-7 55.

Shawnee Mission West (57)

Wesley Clark 0-3 0-0 0; Emilio Elliot Jr. 4-6 0-1 8; Eric Rhymes 9-19 1-1 20; CJ Callaghan 1-3 0-0 2; Logan Weineke 5-6 0-0 15; Kobe McGowan 4-7 1-1 12. Totals 23-44 2-3 57.

Lawrence 12 19 16 8 – 55

SM West 17 14 13 13 – 57

3-point goals: Lawrence 7-17 (Mayo 4, Quartlebaum 2, Graham); West 9-14 (Weineke 5, McGowan 3, Rhymes). Turnovers: Lawrence 7, West 4. Fouled out: None.

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